Board Members and Officers
Board Members
Mr. Dong-Bin Shin, Chairman
Dong-Bin Shin is the Chairman of LOTTE Group. Prior to Joining Lotte Group in 1988, Mr. Shin spent six years as Executive Director at Nomura International LTD in London where he served in the institutional Research and Sales department. With his insight and interest in the Asian economy, he serves as Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, Vice-Chairman of the Korea-Japan Economic Association, Board Member of the Asia Business Council, and Co-Chairman of the Korea-Indonesia Partnership Council.
He also participates as a Global Trustee of Asia Society, and a member of the Board of Overseas Columbia University Business School. He also participates as a Global Trustee of Asia Society, and a member of the Board of Overseas Columbia University Business School.
Mr. Shin has also co-authored a Korean-language volume "Learning Retail Leads You to be CEO" introducing the innovation strategy of convenience stores.
His expertise and contribution to society were well recognized; he has been honored with the Order of Civil Merit of Moran Medal by the President of the Republic of Korea in 2005, Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland in 2006, Officier de la Légion d’Honneur by the President of France in 2007, the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen of the United Kingdom in 2014, the Order of Friendship by the President of Russia in 2015, and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Isabel La Catolica in 2016.
He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1981 after graduating from Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan with a B.A. in economics.
Read more about Chairman Shin and LOTTE Corporation here.
Dr. Hong-Koo Lee, Honorary Chairman
Dr. Hong-Koo Lee, former Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States, has a distinguished career in academia, government, and politics. From 1994 to 1995, he served as Prime Minister of Korea under President Kim Young Sam’s government. Until his posting in Washington in 1998, he served as Chairman of the then-ruling New Korea Party and a member of the Korean National Assembly. Prior to 1994, his government service included appointments as Minister of National Unification in 1988 and Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1911 to 1993.
Dr. Lee is a graduate of Emory University and received his Doctorate in Political Science from Yale University. He also studied at Seoul National University’s College of Law.
Before entering government service, Dr. Lee had a distinguished career in academia, as Professor of Political Science at Emory University in 1963, Case Western Reserve University from 1964 to 1967, Seoul National University from 1968 to 1988. He also served as President of the Korean Political Science Association from 1986 to 1988.
Dr. Lee was a member of the Commission on Global Governance which proposed a reform of the United Nations system in 1995. He was also Chairman of the World Cup Bidding Committee which successfully won the right to host the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea.
Dr. Lee is the Honorary Chairman of the Asia Society Korea in Seoul and Chairman of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs.
Read more about Chairman Lee and the Seoul Forum here.
Mr. Young Joon Kim, Board Member
Mr. Young Joon (“Y.J.”) Kim is Chairman, Board of Directors, of Asian University for Women (AUW) Support Foundation. He retired as a partner in the Projects Energy & Infrastructure Finance Group of the international law firm of Milbank LLP, where he spent his entire professional career, having served in the firm’s offices in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul, with a particular focus on the energy, petrochemical, infrastructure, semiconductor, telecom and aviation sectors.
A graduate of Yale College, B.A. (political science and economics), and Harvard Law School, J.D., Mr. Kim is a member of the New York State Bar and was a 2019 Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI) Fellow. He is currently serving as: Member, Harvard University Board of Overseers’ Visiting Committee for the Law School; President, Harvard Law School Association of Korea; President, Yale Club of Korea; Board Member, GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation; and Trustee & Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Asian University for Women (AUW).
Read more about Mr. Kim and the Asian University for Women here.
Ambassador Oh Joon, Board Member
Ambassador Oh Joon is a professor of United Nations studies at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Korea. He is also the chair of Save the Children Korea and President of the Korea Council of Children's Organizations.
Previously he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York from 2013 to 2016. During that time, he also served as the 71st president of the Economic and Social Council and as president of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2015 and 2016.
Before that, he was the Korean ambassador to Singapore (2010–13) and deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul (2008–10). The Korean government twice awarded him the Order of Service Merit, in 1996 and 2006. In 2018, Oh received a Global Korea Award from Michigan State University. Rehabilitation International gave him a Global Presidential Award in 2016 in acknowledgment of his achievements as president of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He also received the 2014 Youngsan Diplomat of the Year award for his work on North Korean human rights issues.
He published his first book in Korean, For Mica, Who Contemplates Life, in 2015. He received a master’s degree in international policy studies from Stanford University in 1991.
Mr. Mark Tetto, Board Member
Mr. Mark Tetto is Co-CEO of TCK, in charge of investor relations and investment strategies review. Mark brings 14 years of finance experience spanning investment banking, corporate M&A, private equity, and venture capital investing. Prior to TCK, Mark was at Samsung Electronics’ corporate M&A team, where he spent four years successfully acquiring companies and building the firm’s M&A practice. Previously, Mark was with Morgan Stanley, working in New York and London on M&A and corporate finance, raising funding for clients in excess of $1Bn.
Mark holds a BA in Chemistry from Princeton University, and an MBA from The Wharton School, with a concentration in Finance.
Officers and Staff Members
Prior to joining Asia Society, Ms. Kim worked as the Manager of Special Events in Columbia University’s Office of the President for 3 years, where she developed and produced programs and VIP events for over 20,000 guests each academic year, including the World Leaders Forum and Heads of State visits during the United Nations General Assembly, with esteemed guests such as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, President Jalal Talabani of Iraq, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan, President Václav Havel of the Czech Republic, Zhang Yimou, Tan Dun, and the Honorable David Dinkins. Ms. Kim also held varying roles at Columbia University's financial management and administrative departments from 1998-2007, including the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Office of Administrative Planning and Financial Management, and the Graduate School of Journalism.
Ms. Kim is also noted for her contributions to news media. She has worked for Newsweek; WZRC-NY Radio Korea; and New York’s WMBC-TV Channel 63. Ms. Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and was educated in Hong Kong and in the United States. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in East Asian Studies.
Mr. Matthew Fennell, Senior Manager, Content Development
Matthew Fennell is currently the Senior Manager of Content Development at Asia Society Korea, having first joined the organization in 2013. He is responsible for managing all aspects of content writing and editing.
Matthew has been involved in education for over 15 years and is currently a Teaching Professor at Sookmyung Women’s University TESOL Program specializing in second language acquisition. His previous experience includes four years working in Moscow as an Education Consultant and seven years as a Professor at Hanyang University. Matthew has a deep knowledge of the Korean education system and worked with the Korea Ministry of Education, Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE), and the National Institute for International Education (NIIED).
Mr. Wesley Chang, Digital Contents Manager
Wesley Chang is a graduate of Visual Communication Design from Hongik University in Seoul.
Ms. Michelle Sihyun Ju, Digital Content Development Officer
Michelle Sihyun Ju joined Asia Society Korea in May 2022. She is involved in expanding the media presence of Asia Society Korea. Currently attending Hanyang University, Sihyun is majoring in Media Communications and is a reporter for the Culture Division of the Hanyang Journal. Following her interests in history & culture, she previously worked at the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival Organizing Committee and the Jeju Village Culture Promotion Agency.
Ms. Hannah Horton
Hannah Horton joined Asia Society Korea Center in December 2021. She is involved in assisting with the planning of any events, media promotion, and other in-house programs.
Currently on a Fulbright Graduate Scholarship, she is attending Korea University in pursuit of a Master’s in Korean Studies. She is also a MOFA Junior Scholar for the year of 2021. Previously, she received her Bachelor’s in Political Science: International Relations from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) where she also participated in the Innovation in Honors Program. During her time as an undergraduate student, she received the Critical Language Scholarship to South Korea. Through this program, she was able to jump-start her studies on Korea and her Korean language learning.
Ms. Mingi Koo
Mingi Koo joined Asia Society Korea in April 2022. She supports programs such as Voice of Youth (VOY) and ASK-Y, assists in social media updates, and performs other office tasks.
Currently attending The University of Sydney, Mingi is majoring in Politics and International Relations. Her main interests include international cultural exchange, sustainability, and policy. In 2021, she worked as an Advocacy Intern at Asialink Business, where she assisted in planning and preparing events featuring Asia capability, global affairs, and sustainable business.
Mingi also helped translate the book, The History of the Korean Wave, an authoritative textbook on the history of Korean media, into English. She seeks to further her career in international exchange with the skills and knowledge she gained from her diverse experiences.
Ms. Yunha Noh
Yunha Noh joined Asia Society Korea Center in January 2022. She is involved in assisting with the planning of events or programs, and other office managing tasks.
Currently attending Korea University, she is majoring in philosophy. She plans to focus on Oriental Philosophy, especially Buddhism and Taoism. As a FIDE and KCF rated player, she traveled to more than seven countries to participate in international competitions. Being interested in diplomacy and international relations during her career as a chess player, she is also double-majoring in Political Science and International Relations.
She also studied as a computer science gifted student at Seoul National University of Education and Seoul Seongbuk Gangbuk District Office of Education. She speaks Korean, English, and has a nationally approved certificate in Traditional Chinese.
Ms. Minsong Shin
Minsong Shin assists with planning events and programs such as our Voice of Youth (VOY) initiative and manages other office tasks.
Currently attending Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Minsong is majoring in English Linguistics. She is highly interested in foreign languages, international relations, and communication worldwide, making her a culturally global person. She worked as an interpreter at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and was a volunteer for international events held by the IML association.
Minsong actively supported 2021 GMHC, which focuses on mobility technology, its development, and its cultural impacts. She assisted at its academic conference, focusing on communication with foreign participants.
With the goal of working in global trade, Minsong is double majoring in Chinese Foreign Affairs and Commerce. She speaks Korean, English, and Chinese and is looking forward to growing as a leading citizen in this global world.
Contributors and Affiliates
Bernie Cho, President, DFSB Kollective
Mason Richey, Senior Contributor; Professor, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
David Tizzard, Senior Contributor; Assistant Professor, Seoul Women's University