Hee-Eun Kim is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy (CAPS), a Washington, DC–based and practitioner-oriented international security policy institution dedicated to advancing policy-relevant analysis, facilitating strategic engagement, and fostering dialogue on contemporary and emerging threats to peace, security, and stability across the Asia and Indo-Pacific region. Through CAPS, she has established a platform that bridges regional practitioners, international corporations, academia, and the policy community, promoting closer integration between policy and practice. Her work focuses on informing senior decision-makers and the broader public, particularly emerging global leaders, about the complex, real-world defense and security challenges within and involving Asia and Indo-Pacific nations.

Her career reflects sustained engagement at the intersection of policy, security, and international cooperation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in international relations, with a concentration in Foreign Policy and National Security, from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Ms. Kim began her professional career at the Gyeonggi Research Institute, a government-affiliated research institution, where she conducted policy analysis on the U.S.–Republic of Korea alliance and United States Forces Korea. During this period, she also led outreach initiatives related to the Kaesong Industrial Complex, engaging stakeholders across government, industry, and civil society. From 2009 to 2011, she served as Chief Manager of a bilateral exchange program between the United States and the Republic of Korea under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. In this role, she implemented a pilot initiative integrating North Korean defector students into the exchange framework, reflecting an early commitment to inclusive and forward-looking engagement.

She subsequently served on the staff of the Senior Secretary for Foreign Policy and National Security at Cheong-Wa-Dae, the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea. Her responsibilities included authoring the internal monthly Think Tank Report and planning high-level outreach initiatives in support of the Senior Secretary for National Security. Following the conclusion of the presidential administration, Ms. Kim joined the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea in Seoul. She initially served as an International Relations Officer in the Multinational Logistics Division and was later appointed Chief of the United Nations Command Logistics Branch. In 2016, she was appointed Deputy Director for Political-Military Engagement within the Commander’s Strategic Initiatives Group, supporting the U.S. four-star Commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea. In this senior advisory role, she provided political-military counsel and played a central role in the planning and execution of high-level Key Leader Engagements with allied and partner nations.

In 2020, Hee-Eun Kim founded the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy as a non-governmental, non-political, multinational policy institution headquartered in Washington, DC. In addition to her leadership at CAPS, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Economic Conflict and Competition Research Group at King’s College London.