D. Jun Lee is a political scientist at RAND. Lee's primary area of expertise centers around the Koreas and the Korean Peninsula, alongside broader Northeast Asian regional security issues. His research and practitioner portfolios have spanned issues covering: the U.S.-ROK alliance; South Korean politics, foreign policy, and national security; great power strategic competition; U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral security relations; alliance management; defense industrial base and security cooperation; and deterrence.
Previously, Lee served as an intelligence officer at the CIA with a particular focus on the Koreas and Northeast Asia. He has also spent time as a visiting research fellow at Sejong Institute, Hitotsubashi University, and the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) as a CFR-Hitachi Fellow. Lee has previously been recognized for his contributions to Korea and East Asia policy by the NCAFP, Chatham House, Korea Foundation, as well as the Japanese, South Korean, and U.S. governments.
Lee holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He received his M.A. from Georgetown University as a Pantech Fellow for Korea Affairs, and his B.A. from the University of Southern California. He has advanced proficiency or higher in multiple languages, including native-level Korean. He is a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member and International Affairs Fellow (Japan).
[Note: Lee is currently on an IPA leave on public service at the Pentagon].
Education
Ph.D. in East Asian Studies (security & geopolitics), University of Cambridge; M.A. in Asian Studies, Georgetown University; B.A. in international relations, University of Southern California
Languages
Korean; Japanese; Russian; French; Chinese (Mandarin)