'30-Year Veteran Economic Bureaucrat' Kim In-ho, Former Economic Secretary, Now Thriving as a 'YouTuber'

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Former Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, Chief Economic Secretary of the Blue House, and President of the Korea International Trade Association among key economic positions held

Former Blue House Chief Economic Secretary Kim In-ho is being interviewed on the 4th at the Railroad Policy Research Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Kim In-ho, Chairman of the Market Economy Research Institute, was at the heart of the 1997 International Monetary Fund (IMF) foreign exchange crisis, the greatest crisis since the founding of the Republic of Korea. At that time, he served as the Chief Economic Secretary to the Blue House and worked alongside Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Kang Kyung-sik from the onset of the economic crisis through the response process. Later, the prosecution arrested and indicted Chairman Kim on charges of dereliction of duty for allegedly downplaying the reality of the foreign exchange crisis, but he was ultimately acquitted by the court. All the experiences and accounts he went through at the time are fully detailed in his memoir, "50 Years of Light and Shadow?Alongside the Korean Economy," which was published two years ago. The memoir attracted attention for revealing all the characters, including then-President Kim Young-sam, by their real names.

Chairman Kim passed the 4th Administrative Examination in the Finance sector in 1966 and has spent over 30 years as a career economic bureaucrat, holding positions such as Director-General of the Economic Planning Bureau at the Economic Planning Board, Director of the Office for External Economic Coordination, President of the Korea Consumer Protection Board, Commissioner of the Korea Railroad Administration, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, and Chief Economic Secretary to the Blue House. When Chairman Kim served as Director of the Office for External Economic Coordination at the Economic Planning Board, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, was a newly appointed officer in the same office. During the Park Geun-hye administration, he served as Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association.

Recently uploaded YouTube broadcast (Source: YouTube 'Kim Inho's Invisible Hand')

Despite approaching his eighties, Chairman Kim remains actively engaged. Earlier this year, he attracted attention by launching a YouTube channel titled "Kim In-ho's Invisible Hand." He started YouTube to share his beliefs about the "market economy." He consistently films videos every week and has uploaded more than 50 videos in about six months. The channel's advisory committee is impressive, including former Minister of Economy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun, former Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation Park Byung-won, and former Chairman of the Financial Services Commission Kim Seok-dong, among other distinguished former economic officials.

Throughout the interview, Chairman Kim expressed frustration with Korea's economic system. He criticized, "Our country's economic system fundamentally has problems. The government should do the government's work, companies should do the companies' work, and consumers should make the most desirable choices for the system to function properly, but that is not happening at all now."

He emphasized that the problem is serious because the structure of the Korean economy has not changed. Chairman Kim said, "If you look at past speeches, what I said 25 years ago when I was Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission is still valid today," adding, "That means the structure has not changed at all."

Using Japan and China as examples, Chairman Kim stressed that the path Korea's economy should take is clear. Japan, with its deep collusion between government and companies, has lost its way and failed to overcome the waves of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while China, despite having a massive market, has not gained the upper hand in the global value chain competition with the United States. He emphasized the need for a structural transition to a "true market economy," stating, "Regulatory innovation is urgently needed so that companies can succeed."