Rhee Chang-yong (; born 16 May 1960) is a South Korean economist currently serving as the 26th 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 ...

since April 2022. In March 2022 President

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

tapped Rhee who had led the Asia and Pacific Department at the

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 ...

over 8 years for the country's top monetary policy chief upon recommendations from 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 ...

. On 19 April, a nomination hearing was held at 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 repr ...

where his nomination report was adopted and sent to the President. President Moon appointed Rhee on the following day commencing his four-year term as the Governor to minimise the first-ever vacancy of the Governor in Bank's history. During the nomination hearing, Rhee vowed to utilise the central bank's "unpopular" tool of base rate to address post-pandemic inflation reiterating the organisation's role in price stabilisation. Prior to moving to the

IMF 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 la ...

as the first South Korean to join its senior leadership, Rhee was the chief economist at the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

where he worked as its spokesperson and head of its Economic and Research Department. Before joining inter-governmental organisations, he first served as an advisor to multiple South Korean government organisations on economic policies from the early 2000s and then joined the transition team of then-president-elect

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 ...

in 2007. Following President Lee's restructuring of government entities, Rhee took the first deputy role of the Financial Services Commission from 2008 to 2009 before joining the Presidential Committee for the

2010 G-20 Seoul Summit The 2010 G20 Seoul Summit was the fifth meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state, to discuss the global financial system and the world economy,Cho Jin-seo "Seoul unveils G20 summit's symbol," ''Korea Times'' (ROK). July 8, 2010; ...

as its Secretary-General and Sherpa. Rhee holds two degrees in economics - a bachelor from

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 a doctorate from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Rhee completed a doctorate in 1989 at the

, with

Lawrence Summers Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as the director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as presiden ...

as his advisor. After his doctoral studies, he taught at economics departments at

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

and

. On April 18, 2024,

Governor Lee Chang-yong will attend the

G20 The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...

Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in

Washington, D.C Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

. and the

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

(WBG) Spring Conference. Later, on April 21, the meeting period, he was selected as the winner of the American Foreign Policy Association's medal and will participate in the ceremony.

Honours

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 ...

by the government of South Korea (2011)

References

{{Authority control Living people 1960 births Harvard University alumni Seoul National University alumni Academic staff of Seoul National University University of Rochester faculty International Monetary Fund people South Korean government officials South Korean economists Governors of the Bank of Korea People from Nonsan