Choo Kyung-ho (, born 29 July 1960) is a South Korean politician who served as the

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and minister of economy and finance from 2022 to 2023 under President

Yoon Suk Yeol Yoon Suk Yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 2022 until Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, he was removed from office in 2025. The shortest-serving ...

. He has been serving as the

Member of the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the represen ...

for

Dalseong Dalseong () is a Korean-language word that can refer to: Places * Dalseong County Dalseong County (Dalseong-gun) is a ''gun'' occupying much of south and western Daegu, South Korea. A largely rural district lying along the Nakdong River, it m ...

since 2016. Before entering to the National Assembly, he served as the 1st Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, as well as the Minister for Government Policy Coordination under the President

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...

, and the Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission under the

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...

government.

Personal life and education

Choo was born in

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

(now under

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

) and attended Keisung High School. He was educated at

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1905 by Yi Yong-ik, Lee Yong-Ik, a prominent official of the Korean Empire, Korea University is among South Korea's oldest List of ...

, where he completed Bachelor in

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

. He also obtained master's degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He is married to Kim Hee-kyung and has 2 daughters.

Early career

From 1987, he had been working at the Economic Planning Board and the Ministry of Finance and Economy; both are the predecessors of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. During this time, he drew the basis of South Korean

macroeconomics Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. This includes regional, national, and global economies. Macroeconomists study topics such as output (econ ...

. He was sent to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

in 1999 and also worked as an councillor at the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD) from 2006 to 2009. He also served as the Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission.

Political career

Following the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

appointed him as the 1st Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance in March 2013. He was promoted to the Minister for Government Policy Coordination in July 2014. Prior to the 2016 election, Choo joined the

Saenuri Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...

, along with Chong Jong-sup, who was also the Cabinet member under the President Park. He contested for Dalseong and was elected. He became the Director of

The Yeouido Institute The People Power Party (PPP; ) is a conservative and right-wing political party in South Korea. It is the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The PPP, along with its historic rival, the Democratic Party, make up the two large ...

in March 2017, shortly after the

impeachment of Park Geun-hye On 9 December 2016, Park Geun-hye, the president of South Korea, was impeached as the culmination of a political scandal involving interventions to the presidency from her aide, Choi Soon-sil. 234 members of the 300-member National Assembly v ...

. He was re-elected in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. Following the 2022 presidential election, President-elect

Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk Yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 2022 until Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, he was removed from office in 2025. The shortest-serving ...

nominated him as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance. He became Floor Leader in May 2024. He resigned from the position in December amidst the first impeachment vote against Yoon, stating that he would take responsibility for "the third presidential impeachment vote in outh Korea'sconstitutional history".

Other activities

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022)Board of Governors

(IMF).

Election results

General elections

References

External links

Choo Kyung-ho
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choo, Kyung-ho 1960 births Living people People from Daegu Korea University alumni University of Oregon alumni Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) People Power Party (South Korea) politicians Deputy prime ministers of South Korea Finance ministers of South Korea