President Wonyonggeol... Proposes a New Model for Public Universities from an Economist's Perspective

Former President of the Korean International Economic Association

Born in 1963, he graduated from the Department of Economics at Seoul National University. He obtained a master's degree in International Economics from Seoul National University Graduate School and then went to the United States, where he earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the Department of Economics at Indiana University.

From August 1998 to February 2022, he began his career as an educator serving as a full-time lecturer and assistant professor in the Department of Northeast Asian Trade at Incheon National University. After taking his first step at the University of Seoul in 2002, he served as a professor in the Department of Economics at the College of Political Science and Economics until February last year. In 2016, he served as the dean of the College of Political Science and Economics and director of the Social Science Research Institute for two years. Then, in March last year, he was elected president of the University of Seoul.

Won Yong-geol, President of the University of Seoul, stood in front of the world map in the university headquarters lobby after finishing the interview. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

President Won is an economic expert who has held various roles, from a bank clerk at the Bank of Korea to the president of the Korean International Finance Association.

From January 1988 to July 1990, he worked at the Bank of Korea as a clerk in the Funds Department and the Suwon branch. After earning his doctorate in the United States, he served as a research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy for three years starting in 1995.

President Won served as the president of the Korean International Finance Association from September 2020 to August 2021, and as vice president and executive director of the Korean International Business Association from January to December 2023. From August 2022 to last July, he was a member of the Financial Hub Promotion Committee.

Currently, alongside his role as president, he concurrently serves as an advisory committee member of the Economic Cooperation Development Fund at the Export-Import Bank of Korea, a member of the International Development Cooperation Committee, and the president and CEO of the Korean International Economics Association.