Our research institute (Director: Sang-Yong Pyo) held an academic conference jointly with the Baltic States Research Project Group of the EU Research Institute in the conference room on the 11th floor of the university headquarters at the Seoul Campus on Friday, September 15th.

This academic conference, which started with a greeting from Hong Wan-seok, dean of the Graduate School of International and Area Studies, and a keynote speech by former Ambassador to Russia Park No-byeok, was held under the theme of 'De-Russianization and economic development strategies of the Baltic countries' and was held by the Baltic countries consisting of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. It has become a venue for various discussions about the current situation.

The first session of the seminar was 'Changes in the social status of the Russian diaspora in the Baltic countries' by Seo Jin-seok, senior researcher at the Baltic Research Center at the EU Research Institute, and 'Total Russophobia: The Ukrainian War and Anti-Russianism in the Baltic States' by Ra Seung-do, HK Research Professor at the Russian Institute. Attention’, Professor Kim Bong-cheol of the Department of International Studies (Director of the EU Research Institute) gave a presentation on the topic ‘Status of International Law in the Baltic States and Structure of International Treaties’. Through this topic, the presenters of this session expressed various opinions on erasing traces of Russia in the Baltic countries.

The second session included three topic presentations on the agenda regarding the growth potential and economic development strategies of the Baltic countries. Taejae Future Strategy Institute's Dr. Daesik Lee's 'Estonia's Growth Potential and Economic Development Strategy', HK Research Professor Kim Seon-rae of the Russian Research Institute's 'Latvia's Growth Potential and Economic Development Strategy', and Research Professor Lee Ha-yan of the EU Research Institute's Humanities and Social Research Project Group's 'Lithuania'. A presentation was made on the topic of 'growth potential and economic development strategy'.

Director Hong Wan-seok, who was in charge of research at the Baltic States Research Project Group, explained the purpose of this academic conference while introducing the background to Korea's first attempt to conduct research on the Baltic countries through support from the National Research Foundation of Korea. Kim Bong-cheol, Director of the EU Research Institute, who co-hosted this seminar and opened the Baltic Research Center, said that this seminar marked the beginning of full-scale research on the Baltic countries in Korea.