KoreaWho - Biographical and news service about individuals who have a significant impact on the Korean economy

- CEO of Fiberpro
  Koh Yeon-wan
  
  Koh Yeon-wan is the CEO of Fiberpro. He is focused on transforming the company into a specialized provider of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) integrated solutions, while accelerating its push into the global aerospace and defense markets based on its proprietary optical fiber technologies. He was born in September 1964. He graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Physics and earned both a master's degree and a Ph.D. in Physics from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). He founded Fiberpro (then known as Donam System), which originated from the Optical Fiber Laboratory at KAIST. He is an optical technology expert who has dedicated more than 30 years to the fields of optical measurement and optical sensing. He places strong emphasis on sustainable growth. #Fiberpro #KohYeonwan #PNT #OpticalFiber #Aerospace #DefenseIndustry #OpticalSensors #NavigationTechnology #KAIST #PhotonicsTechnology
- President of the University of Seoul.
  Won Yong-kul
  
  Won Yong-kul is the President of the University of Seoul. He has been working to present a new model for public universities under the banner of becoming an “AI Transformation Research-Oriented University.” He was born on June 7, 1963, in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. He graduated from Suwon Suseong High School and Seoul National University, where he majored in economics. He earned a master's degree in economics from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University in the United States. He worked at the Bank of Korea before serving as a Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP). He was appointed as a professor in the Division of Northeast Asian Commerce at the University of Incheon and later joined the Department of Economics at the University of Seoul as a professor. He served as Dean of the College of Political Science and Economics and Director of the Institute of Social Sciences. In 2023, he was appointed President of the University of Seoul. He has served as President of the Korean International Financial Association, Vice President of the Korea International Trade Association, and President of the Korea International Economic Association. #WonYong-kul #UniversityofSeoul #AITransformation #ResearchUniversity #HigherEducation #Economics #PublicUniversity #KoreanAcademia #EducationLeadership #UniversityPresident
- the CEO of NICE Information Service
  Kim Jong-yoon
  
  Kim Jong-yoon is the CEO of NICE Information Service. He is advancing the company’s credit evaluation system in response to the artificial intelligence (AI) transformation of the financial industry while accelerating entry into Vietnam’s credit rating market, using the acquisition of a business license from the State Bank of Vietnam as a foundation. He was born on September 2, 1970. He graduated from Korea University with a degree in Statistics and earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from Korea University Graduate School. He later received a Ph.D. in Engineering from Soongsil University Graduate School. He joined NICE Information Service, then known as Korea Credit Information. He served as Head of the Solutions Business Office and Head of the CB Business Division 1 and 2. After serving as Head of the Information Business Division for the Corporate Sector and Head of the Corporate Sector, he was appointed CEO in 2025. He is a credit evaluation and data expert who has spent 27 years exclusively at NICE Information Service. He is known for a flexible leadership style that emphasizes communication and grants autonomy to employees. #NICEInformationService #KimJongyoon #CreditRating #CreditData #FinancialAI #DigitalTransformation #Fintech #VietnamMarket #CreditScoring #DataAnalytics
- CEO of PINO
  Zhu Zong-yuan
  
  Zhu Zong-yuan is the CEO of PINO. He also serves as Vice President of CNGR (China New Materials Group Co., Ltd.) and Head of Finance for its Korean subsidiary. He was born on July 16, 1977. He graduated from Xiangtan University with a degree in Economics and completed an MBA program at Central South University. He worked at LG Philips Shuguang Electronics Co., Ltd. in China and Hunan Electronic Information Industry Group Co., Ltd. He served as Deputy General Manager of the Finance Department and General Manager of the Securities Investment Department at Hunan Coal Industry Group. He also worked as Head of Finance at Xiangmei Lida Mining Equipment. He was recruited as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Hunan CNGR Holding, the holding company of CNGR. He later moved to CNGR and served as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He was promoted to Vice President and was appointed Head of Finance for the Korean subsidiary. In March 2026, he was appointed CEO of PINO. He is a finance and investment specialist. He is a Chinese national, and his Chinese name is Zhu Zong-yuan. #PINO #ZhuZongyuan #CNGR #BatteryMaterials #EVBattery #FinanceExpert #InvestmentExpert #KoreaBusiness #ChineseExecutive #BatteryIndustry
- Chairman of Meritz Financial Group
  Cho Jung-ho
  
  Cho Jung-ho is Chairman of Meritz Financial Group. He was born in Incheon on October 5, 1958 (lunar calendar), the youngest of four sons and one daughter of Cho Choong-hoon, the founder of Hanjin Group. He graduated from Thacher School in Boston, the United States, and earned a degree in economics from the University of Southern California. He later completed an MBA program at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland. After joining Korean Air, he worked at Hanil Securities and Hanjin Investment & Securities before serving as Vice President of Dongyang Fire & Marine Insurance. In 1997, he became CEO of Hanjin Investment & Securities. Following the death of his father, founder Cho Choong-hoon, he separated the fire insurance, securities, and merchant banking businesses from Hanjin Group and established Meritz Financial Group as an independent entity. He became Chairman of Meritz Financial Holdings, the group's holding company, but stepped back from frontline management after controversies surrounding excessive compensation and dividend payouts. After serving as Executive Chairman of Meritz Securities, he returned as Chairman of Meritz Financial Holdings in 2014. He is known for actively recruiting talented professionals and follows a performance-based compensation and personnel management philosophy. He has stated that, for the sake of improving corporate governance efficiency, “I can give up passing the company on to my children.” #ChoJungho #MeritzFinancialGroup #MeritzFinancialHoldings #KoreanAir #HanjinGroup #FinanceIndustry #CorporateGovernance #PerformanceBasedManagement #MeritzSecurities #SouthKoreaBusinessLeader
  NEWS
  - • ‘Left With What His Brothers Didn’t Take’ — How Cho Jung-ho Became Korea’s Richest Shareholder Through Meritz
- Vice Chairman and CEO of SAMCNS
  Choi Yu-jin
  
  Choi Yu-jin is Vice Chairman and CEO of SAMCNS. She aims to transform the company into a comprehensive semiconductor materials and components platform company by increasing the utilization rate of the Osong new plant and securing customers for new products used in DRAM and system semiconductors. She was born on February 20, 1982, as the eldest daughter of Choi Myung-bae, Chairman of YC. She graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering and earned both her master's and doctoral degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University. She began her career at Samsung Electronics' Semiconductor Research Institute. She later joined YIK Corporation (now YC), the semiconductor inspection equipment company founded by her father. In 2020, she was appointed CEO of SAMCNS, a manufacturer of key components for semiconductor inspection equipment. She is regarded as having strengthened the company's fundamentals through technical expertise and proactive infrastructure investment.
- Prime Minister nominee of the Republic of Korea
  Han Seong-sook
  
  Han Seong-sook is the nominee for Prime Minister in the Lee Jae-myung administration. She was born on June 20, 1967, in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. She graduated from Uijeongbu Girls' High School and earned a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Sookmyung Women's University. She began her professional career as a reporter for Mincom, a computer magazine. She later served as head of the public relations team at Nanum Technology. She joined search portal Empas as a founding member and served as head of its Search Business Division. After Empas was acquired by SK Communications, she moved to NHN, the predecessor of Naver, where she worked as head of the Search Quality Center, head of Service Division 1, and executive director overseeing services. In 2017, she was appointed CEO of NHN. Following the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, she was appointed as the first Minister of SMEs and Startups. At the time, she held assets worth KRW 44.0 billion (US$ 31.7 million), making her the wealthiest ministerial nominee in the Lee Jae-myung administration. In June 2026, following Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, President Lee Jae-myung nominated her as the candidate for prime minister, and she is now preparing for a National Assembly confirmation hearing. #HanSeong-sook #LeeJaeMyung #PrimeMinisterNominee #SouthKoreaPolitics #Naver #NHN #MinisterOfSMEsAndStartups #Empas #KoreanGovernment #TechIndustryLeader
- CEO of Neosem
  Yeom Dong-heon
  
  Yeom Dong-heon is the CEO of Neosem. He was born in August 1958. He graduated from the Department of Avionics Engineering at Korea Aerospace University and completed an MBA program at Yonsei University Graduate School of Business. He joined Samsung Electronics and worked in its semiconductor division. He later worked as an engineer at Schlumberger ATE Korea, a global semiconductor testing company under Schlumberger (now SLB), and then moved to Teradyne Korea, where he served as Sales Manager. He returned to Schlumberger ATE Korea and served as the head of its Korean subsidiary. In 2002, he founded Neosem, a semiconductor testing specialist company. He is known for his ability to identify technology trends and for his persistence as an engineer. Under his leadership, Neosem has grown into a specialized semiconductor tester company that leads global standards. He now faces the challenge of proving visible growth based on solid business fundamentals to the market. #Neosem #YeomDongheon #SemiconductorTesting #SemiconductorEquipment #SLB #Teradyne #SamsungElectronics #SemiconductorIndustry #TechnologyLeadership #GlobalStandards
- CEO of XGate
  Ju Gab-soo
  
  Ju Gab-soo is the CEO of XGate. He is expanding the company beyond its leadership position in South Korea’s internet personal information security VPN market into next-generation fields such as quantum security and home networking. He was born on January 25, 1975. He graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked as a network engineer at Datacraft Korea and Pan World Networks. In 2001, he founded the security company NexG. After stepping down as CEO 10 years later, he launched XGate and embarked on a new entrepreneurial challenge. XGate became part of Gabia in 2016, and he has continued to serve as CEO, leading the company with a technology-focused management approach. #XGate #JuGabsoo #Cybersecurity #VPN #QuantumSecurity #HomeNetworking #NetworkSecurity #Gabia #NexG #InformationSecurity
- Chairman and CEO of Seobu T&D
  Seung Man-Ho
  
  Seung Man-ho is Chairman and CEO of Seobu T&D. He has focused on the development of the Yongsan International Business District and the construction of the Sinjeong-dong Urban High-Tech Logistics Complex. He was born on July 15, 1957, as the youngest of three children—two daughters and one son—of Seung Hyang-bae, Chairman of Yongsan Tourist Bus Terminal (now Seobu T&D). He graduated from Gyeongbok High School in Seoul and earned a bachelor's degree in French Language and Literature from Seoul National University. He later received a master's degree in business administration from the graduate school of Seoul National University. He worked as a managing director at Ojin Development and Korea Truck Terminal, affiliates of his father's company. He also served as Vice President of Yongsan Tourist Bus Terminal and later became CEO of Ojin Trading, Yongsan Tourist Bus Terminal, and Ojin Tourism. Since 2005, he has served as CEO of Seobu Truck Terminal (now Seobu T&D). He also concurrently serves as CEO of Seoul Dragon City. For more than 15 years, he served as Chairman of the Yongsan Business Association (now the Yongsan District Chamber of Commerce under the Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry). #SeungManHo #SeobuTD #YongsanInternationalBusinessDistrict #SeoulDragonCity #LogisticsComplex #YongsanDevelopment #KoreanBusinessLeader #UrbanDevelopment #SeobuTDChairman #SouthKoreaBusiness

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