S. Paul CHOI

Principal, StratWays Group

S. Paul Choi (최석훈) is Principal at StratWays Group, a Seoul-based geopolitical risk advisory. He specializes in political-military affairs, international security, strategy design, and deterrence.

Choi provides counsel to government agencies, think-tanks, investment banks, and businesses. He engages in track 1.5 dialogues and speaks at academic and policy institutions around the world. His commentary appears in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Financial Times, NPR, and JoongAng Ilbo.

Previously, Choi worked as a Strategist and International Relations Specialist at the United Nations Command / Republic of Korea (ROK) – U.S. Combined Forces Command in the Commander's Strategic Initiatives Group and in the Directorate for Strategy, Policy, and Plans (2013-18). In this capacity, he assisted in the establishment of the ROK-U.S. Deterrence Strategy Committee, the ROK-U.S. Tailored Deterrence Strategy, and various bilateral operational plans.

He has also been a Stanton Nuclear Policy Fellow at RAND (2022-23), Research Associate at the Council on Foreign Relations (2011-13), Visiting Scholar at Fudan University (2011), and Faculty Lecturer at the Korea Military Academy (2007-10).

Choi’s published analyses include “As World Order Shifts, So Does South Korean Security Policy” (Arms Control Today, Vol. 53:6, July/August 2023); “Managing Competition: Arms Limitations and Beyond” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 05, 2022); “The Limits of Operational Integration” (Alliances, Nuclear Weapons and Escalation: Managing Deterrence in the 21st Century, Australia National University Press, December, 2021); “Deterring North Korea: The Need for Collective Resolve and Alliance Transformation” (38 North, Stimson Center, July 2020).

Research interests: security, defense, strategy, alliances

Activities

Working Group

"Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group

Single Author

Partial Contribution

"South Korea: The Limits of Operational Integration" Nuclear Weapons and Managing Escalation, Australia National University Press, 2021.

Social Publications

"Deterrence Concerns on the Korean Peninsula and South Korean Discourse on Nuclear Armament" National Bureau of Asian Research, Mar 31, 2023.

"U.S.-ROK Alliance Consultative Mechanisms: Strengthening Deterrence, Providing Reassurance, Facing an Enduring ChallengeU.S.-ROK Alliance Consultative Mechanisms: Strengthening Deterrence, Providing Reassurance, Facing an Enduring Challenge" Korea Economic Institute of America · Mar 14, 2023.

"Managing Competition: Arms Limitations and BeyondManaging Competition: Arms Limitations and Beyond" Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 5, 2022.

"Deterring North Korea: The Need for Collective Resolve and Alliance TransformationDeterring North Korea: The Need for Collective Resolve and Alliance Transformation" 38 North, Jul 23, 2020.

Don’t Lose Sight of Under-the-Hood Changes to South Korea’s Defense PostureDon’t Lose Sight of Under-the-Hood Changes to South Korea’s Defense Posture The Diplomat, Nov 13, 2019.

Defense in Support of Diplomacy: Re-designing the ROK-U.S. Deterrence PostureDefense in Support of Diplomacy: Re-designing the ROK-U.S. Deterrence Posture Council on Foreign Relations, Jun 10, 2019.

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