On the occasion of the first KCAPC Conference held in Seoul on October 3, 2019 we devoted the morning to two prestigious seminars and four interactive information sessions.  Our purpose was to engage our audience with the realities of getting involved to help make South Korea a true democracy. 

The two hour session was sponsored by the New Institute (Hawaii, USA), supported by the Leadership Institute (Washington DC). The room at Hyatt Regency, Seoul was completely full (450 attended). In fact, the interest in the topics was so high that we could have doubled the numbers of attendees that morning.   

The first seminar addressed the topic of “Activism that works” and was given by Mr Robert Arnakis, who is the Senior Director of Domestic and International Programs for The Leadership Institute. He oversees divisions which provide political education and consultation to senior government officials, public policy leaders and influencers. 

The second session addressed the topic of “Campaigns: How to win” and was given by Mr Saulius “Saul” Anuzis , an experienced Leadership Institute consultant who is a Principal at Coast to Coast Strategies, LLC. His company provides strategic planning, political intelligence, political risk assessment, political consulting and business development services to clients across the United States and internationally.

The seminars were followed by four interactive sessions with notable local and international speakers. They led the audience to discuss and participate in their critiques of the issues concerning Korean politics. 

David Enu-ku Kim, the Seoul National University representative of Trust Forum raised the question of “586 Generation Politics in Korea”; Sara Carter, an investigative reporter based in the United States explained the “Role of Activists” and related it to Korea; Lawrence Peck, an activist and political commentator also based in the United States, gave us “What was on his mind about Korea today”; Dr Eric C Enlow, Director, Graduate School of International Law, Handong University shared his insights on “Young generation Education in Korea: Strengths and Weaknesses”.

Dr Andrew Crilly, President of the New Institute gave concluding remarks which were based on the extensive range and scope of the topics discussed.