Yeo Han-koo (, born 14 November 1969) is the former Director General of Free Trade Negotiations of South Korea served under 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 ...

from 2021 to 2022. Yeo is considered a veteran trade negotiator and technocrat.

Early life and Education

Yeo holds a bachelor's degree in business administration 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 ...

as well as a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

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 ...

Career

Early Career

Over the past 25 years, he worked in various government agencies since he passed the Korean state civil servant exam in 1992. Before promoted to President Moon's third trade minister, Yeo served as his secretary for New Southern and New Northern Policies at Office of the President. Yeo also served as the deputy trade minister after his predecessor Yoo Myung-hee was promoted to the country's first woman trade minister. Along with various trade related roles in the government, he worked at

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 ...

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. and a member of the World Bank Group that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private ...

as its senior investment officer from 2010 to 2014.

Minister of Trade (2021–2022)

In the first cross-departmental committee on trade Yeo chaired, he proposed five trade topics that its policies should prioritise from supply chain, technology and digital transformation to vaccine and

carbon neutrality Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

. Yeo is expected to lead the country's accession to CPTPP and

DEPA Public Gas Corporation of Greece S.A. (corporation), A.E. (DEPA; ) commonly known for its Greek abbreviation DEPA () is the natural gas supply company of Greece. The registered office of the company is based in Irakleio, Attica, Irakleio, Athens. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeo, Han-koo 1969 births Living people People from Seoul Seoul National University alumni Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Government ministers of South Korea Trade ministers of South Korea