ISDP welcomes Lieutenant General (Ret.) In-bum Chun as a Guest Researcher
April 7, 2026: ISDP is delighted to welcome Lieutenant General (Ret.) In-bum Chun as a Guest Researcher at the Stockholm Korea Center until May 10th.
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Chun is a Senior Fellow for the Association of the United States Army, President of the Society for Army Alliance-Korea, President of the Korea AI Security Association, and a Board Member of the Korean Animal Welfare Association.
Chun has previously served as Vice President of the Korea Freedom Federation, Chief of the Election Support Branch, Civil Military Affairs/Strategic Operations Directorate at the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq. He was recognized by both the Republic of Korea and the United States for his contribution to the first “Fair and Free” elections in Iraq on January 30, 2005, with the Hwa-Rang Combat Medal and the U.S. Bronze Star Medal.
From November 2005, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Chun served as the Director of U.S. Affairs at the Korean Ministry of National Defense and was involved in negotiations and cooperation with the U.S. on the relocation of U.S. forces, camp returns, ROK/U.S. Joint Vision Study, Special Measures Agreement, and the transition of the Wartime Operational Control.
LTG(R) Chun commanded the 27th Infantry Division and was the Senior Member of the UN Command Military Armistice Commission. In November of 2013, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and was assigned as the Commander of the ROK Special Warfare Command. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Chun retired from active duty as of July 31, 2016.
Lieutenant General (Ret) Chun has also conducted concurrent fellowships with the Brookings Institute and the U.S.-Korea Institute (USKI) at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) until October 2017. He has been a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at prominent institutions, such as the Sam-Nunn School of Advanced Studies at Georgia Tech, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Japan, and the Japanese National Institute of Defense Studies (NIDS).
LTG (R) Chun was awarded the National Security Medal (Kwang-Bok) in 1983 for saving the life of General Lee Ki-Baek in the Rangoon bombing attack.
During his stay at ISDP, he will focus on the topic: “Alliance Adaptation in an Era of Cognitive Warfare: Industrial Resilience and Maritime Capacity in Middle-Power Strategy”. He also plans to learn more about Sweden’s Total Defense concept and national resilience, civil preparedness, and whole-of-society defense models in sustaining deterrence to apply what he learns to South Korea’s alliance management and deterrence posture in Northeast Asia. He will also give a lecture on May 4th at the Swedish National Defense University.”
The Institute would like to thank the Korea Foundation, which, through its continued financial support, enables ISDP’s Korea Center in hosting prominent South Korean researchers.