Officers

Dr. Hong-Koo Lee

Honorary Chairman

Dr. Lee has held distinguished academic, diplomatic, and political positions. He is a former Prime Minister, and Minister of Unification, and served as the Republic of Korea's ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In addition, Dr. Lee is Chairman of the Board for the Seoul Forum for International Affairs and a Board Member of the Asia Foundation. Dr. Lee has taught at Emory University and Case Western University in the United States, and was a Professor at Seoul National University from 1968 to 1988. Dr. Lee holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University, and received his B.A. from Emory University.

Mr. Dong-Bin Shin

Co-Chairman

Mr. Shin's career in international business started when he began work for Nomura Securities in 1981. He is presently the Chairman of the Lotte Group. Additionally, Mr. Shin is Vice President of the Federation of Korean Industries, and President of the Korea-Japan Economic Association. Mr. Shin holds an MBA from Columbia University, and received his B.A. from Aoyama Gakuin University.

Dr. Kyongsoo Lho

Co-Chairman

Dr. Lho is a Professor of International Politics at Seoul National University. He has also held teaching positions at Stanford University, Free University of Berlin, and the Korean Military Academy. Professor Lho previously served on the Foreign and Security staff of the Republic of Korea's Presidential Secretariat. Professor Lho holds a D.Phil. and M.Litt in International Politics from Oxford University and received his B.A. from Harvard University. Professor Lho has extensive overseas work experience, and has lived in Asia, North America, and Europe.

Ms. Yvonne Yoon-Hee Kim

Executive Director

Ms. Kim is a professional event planner, non-profit program developer and media communications expert. From 1998-2007, Ms. Kim held varying roles at Columbia University's financial management and administrative departments, including managing special events for the President's Office. Prior to joining the Korea Center in July 2008, she was an Executive Associate for the Senior Vice President of Operations at Asia Society's New York headquarters. Ms. Kim has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in East Asian Studies. She is fluent in Korean.