On 18 January 2012, the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (International Relations Program) at the University of Pennsylvania released the United Nations University Edition of the Global Think Tanks Report 2011. According to the report’s preface:

“The 2011 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings marks the fifth edition of the annual  report. As in previous years, the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania’s International Relations Program has relied on the indexing criteria and process developed by James G. McGann for ranking think tanks around the world.

The Program’s Rankings remain the first and most comprehensive ranking of the world’s top think tanks, and are based on an annual global peer and expert survey of close to 1500 scholars, policymakers, journalists, and regional and subject area experts. Given the rigor and scope of the process, the Rankings produced have been described as the insider’s guide to the global marketplace of ideas.”

The  Korea Development Institute (KDI)  was ranked 11th and the East Asia Institute ranked 22nd in the Top 30 Think Tanks in Asia. The East Asia institute was also ranked 24th in the Top Fifty Security and International Affairs Think Tanks, while the Korea Development Institute (KDI) was ranked 27th in the Top Thirty International Development Think Tanks. The  Korea Institute of International Economic Policy (KIEP) was ranked 18th in the Top Thirty International Economic Policy Think Tanks.