Kim Choong-soo (; born 6 June 1947) is a South Korean economist and politician who was Governor of the

Bank of Korea The Bank of Korea (BOK; ) is the central bank of South Korea and issuer of South Korean won. It was established on 12 June 1950 in Seoul, South Korea. The bank's primary purpose is price stability. For that, the bank inflation targeting, targ ...

from April 2010 until March 2014.

Education

After graduating from

Kyunggi High School Kyunggi High School () is the oldest modern high school in Korea, located in Gangnam District, Seoul. The school is an all-boys school, and its counterpart is , also located in Gangnam District, Seoul. Kyunggi High School has educated many leade ...

in Seoul in 1966, he entered

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

and graduated with a degree in economics in 1973. He received a PhD degree in economics from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, US in 1979.

Career

In 1979, he started his professional career as Senior Research Associate at the Center for Human Resource Research, Ohio State University, U.S.A. He returned to Korea in 1983 and served at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) as Senior Economist for ten years. His research areas at KDI included macroeconomic policy management, manpower and social welfare policy. In early 1993, Kim was named Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs at the Office of the President. In March 1995, as Korea applied for a membership to the OECD, he was appointed as Minister and Head of the OECD Office at the Korean Embassy in Paris, to be in charge of the accession negotiations with the OECD. Kim returned to Seoul in early 1997 and served as Assistant Minister and Special Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. In August 1997, he was elected as President of the Korea Institute of Public Finance. He became Dean of the graduate school for international studies at Kyung Hee University in April 1998. From August 2002 to August 2005, he served as President of the Korea Development Institute. During February 2007 and February 2008, he served as President of Hallym University. From February to June 2008, he was Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs at the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea. Before becoming the Governor of the Bank of Korea in April 2010, he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Korea to the

OECD 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 ...

from September 2008 to March 2010, as well as serving as the head of Korea's state-run think-tank Korea Development Institute. His tenure as Governor ended on 31 March 2014.

Criticism

In March 2010, economist expert, Dr. Kim Sang-jo () of

Hansung University Hansung University () is a private university in Seongbuk District, Seoul, South Korea. It was founded on December 21, 1972. The Hansung University is located in Seongbuk District and Jongno District, Seoul. Timeline 1945–1989 *Septem ...

criticized Kim Choong-soo as "the worst candidate for the new governor of Bank of Korea" due to his close affiliation with President

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 ...

that could threaten the neutrality of Bank of Korea.

Awards

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

, Mogryeon, 26 December 1992 * Civil Merit Medal, 15 December 1987

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Choong Soo 1947 births Living people Governors of the Bank of Korea South Korean politicians 21st-century South Korean economists Mogryeon Medals of the Order of Civil Merit (Korea) Seoul National University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Presidents of universities and colleges in South Korea