Embedded Files
I am a PhD candidate in the Government Department at Cornell University. I study American presidency and executive politics, federalism, and state politics. My research explores how state-level actors can check presidential power within the vertical checks and balances system. In my dissertation, I examine how State Attorneys General use litigation against the president to stymie primary presidential policy initiatives. Additionally, I examine how state-level actors' use of lawsuits and gubernatorial executive orders against unilateral actions by the president can serve as indirect behavior checks by shaping public opinion and increasing the political costs of the president's use of unilateral power.
Before coming to Cornell, I earned my M.A. degree in International Relations and B.A. degrees in International Relations and Korean History at Seoul National University in South Korea.
You can reach me out through my E-mail or Calendly.
Here's my CV.
Research
Publication
"Legal Constraint through Political Means? Legal Foundations and Public Supports for Executive Action"
Aaron Childree, Hyein Yang, and Douglas Kriner, The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization (2025)
Working Paper
"The Vertical Checks and Balances: State Attorneys General and State Litigation (Job market paper)"
Work in Progress
"Can State Actors Influence Public Opinion on Presidential Unilateralism? The Role of State Litigation and Gubernatorial Executive Orders"
"How Does a Presidential Partisan Shift Shape Public Views on Federal, State and Local Government?" (with Douglas Kriner)
Teaching
Cornell University
GOVT 3161 The American Presidency (with Douglas Kriner), Spring 2024
GOVT 3032 Politics of Public Policy (with Jamila Michener), Fall 2023
GOVT 1111 Introduction to American Government and Politics (with Suzanne Mettler), Fall 2022, 2025
GOVT 1313 Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics (with Nicolas van de Walle), Spring 2022, 2023
Korean Language Across the Curriculum, (Instructor), Spring 2022, 2024
GOVT 3112 Congress and the Legislative Process (with David Bateman), Fall 2021
Page updated
Report abuse