I am a South Korean political economist working on geopolitical risk and the geoeconomics of emerging tech, observing East Asia, the U.S., Europe and the Gulf.

I focus on the geoeconomics of technology in digital and energy transitions (DX/GX) and work on AI governance regarding frontier AI and its risks, centering on the 6Cs:

1. Chips: AI semiconductors
2. Cars: RoboTaxis/UAMs (mobility AI)
3. Cloud: AI data centers (AI infrastructure)
4. Cables: 5G/6G networks (seamless AI)
5. Coins: crypto, stablecoins, CBDCs (digital finance)
6. Care: medical and bio AI (digital health)

CV

Résumé

I analyze different country policy responses to the digital transformation and energy transition, by focusing on industrial capacity and governance structures – domestic institutions, leaderships, and bureaucracies that shape the policy formation process.

I am currently based in Seoul and serve as a Senior Research Affiliate of the Centre for Digital Law at Singapore Management University from remote. I am one of the ROK participants in the inaugural U.S.–Northeast Asia Forum on AI Risks and Opportunities, a year-long policy endeavor organized by the Center for New American Security (CNAS).

• [Book Chapter] June Park, 2025. “The ‘Geolegality’ of U.S. Investment Screening on Chips and AI: Cases from East Asia and the Gulf.” Springer Studies in Law & Geoeconomics, Vol I. Springer.
• [Book Chapter] June Park, 2025. ‘Bilateral Contracts, Licensed Production and Indigenous Development: South Korea’s COVID-19 Vaccine Procurement and Vaccination Drive,’ Scott L. Greer, Elizabeth J. King, Elize Massard da Fonseca and Holly Jarman eds. Vaccination Politics: The Comparative Politics of COVID-19 Vaccinations. University of Michigan Press. 

The latest:

• [Review Contribution] ‘In whose tech we trust – Part I: Mapping Indo-Pacific approaches to foreign owned, controlled or influenced technology’, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), November 2025.
• [Newspaper Interview] “Trapped Between U.S. and China, South Korea Feels Trade War’s Pressure.” by Daisuke Wakabayashi for The New York Times, October 27, 2025.
• [Policy Report] June Park. “Gulf LNG in the Time of U.S. Tariffs : Navigating Geoeconomic Turbulence amid Trump’s Trade War.” Issue Brief, Middle East Council on Global Affairs, Doha, Qatar (August 2025).
• [Expert Interview] June Park interviewed by Talha Haroon. “Sovereignty in Circulation: Monetary Blocs and the Future of Currency Power.” Nottingham Economic Review, Nottingham, UK (August 2025) 
• [Expert Interview] ‘Three Questions to June Park: South Korea, the United States, and the Gulf-Semiconductors in the Development of AI,’ Institut Montaigne, Paris, France. June 25, 2025. (English)
• [Expert Interview] ‘Trois questions à June Park : Corée du Sud, États-Unis et Golfe – les semi-conducteurs dans le développement de l’IA,’ Institut Montaigne, Paris, France. 25 juin 2025. (French)

Speaking at:

• June Park. “Defense AI and the Impact of LLMs on National Security in the Gulf:The Cases of the UAE, KSA and Qatar.” Workshop 7: Emerging Technologies and Defense Industrialization in the GCC: Navigating the Localization–Outsourcing Dilemma in the AI Era, Gulf Research Meeting 2026, The University of Cambridge, UK (July 21-23, 2025, scheduled)
• June Park. “The Pursuit of AI Supremacy: US Chip Export Controls from East Asia and Europe to the Gulf and Southeast Asia.” Workshop on Technological Sovereignty, Geoeconomics, and Middle Powers in Great Power Tech Rivalry, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), Helsinki, Finland (June 9, 2026, scheduled)

Recently spoke at:

• (Invited) June Park. “AI Data Centers in the Gulf: The Drive for Sovereign AI and the Limits of Infrastructure and Energy.” Korea National Defense University, Nonsan, South Korea (December 16, 2025)
• (Proposed) Track 3 – The Global AI Edge, World Summit on AI (WSAI) 2025, Doha, Qatar (December 9-10, 2025)
• (Invited) Panel “How AI is Transforming Islamic Fintech,” MENA Fintech & Insurtech Festival 2025, Doha, Qatar (December 2-3, 2025)
• (Invited) Closed AI Roundtable, MWC Doha, Doha, Qatar (November 26, 2025)
• (Invited) Closed AI Roundtable, KOTRA Doha Office, Doha, Qatar (November 24, 2025)
• (Invited) Guest Lecture on Geopolitics and Technology for Professor Matteo Dian – 96816 – INTERNATIONAL POLITICS OF EAST ASIA, University of Bologna-Forlì, Bologna, Italy (Hybrid: November 20, 2025)

Policy Engagement:

• 2026 U.S.-Northeast Asia Forum on AI Risks and Opportunities, CNAS (Center for a New American Security), Washington, DC USA (Kickoff-meeting: March 3, 2026)
• 2026 IASEAI (International Association for Safe & Ethical AI 2nd Annual Conference), UNESCO House, Paris, France (February 24-26, 2026)

Industry Engagement:

• Dubai World Congress for Self Driving Transport, World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE (September 24-25, 2025)
• Inaugural Technical AI Governance Forum, ERA & Oxford AI Governance Initiative, London, UK (August 16-17, 2025)

In the media: JPGeoEcon