Rhee Chang-yong

In this Korean name, the family name is Rhee.
Rhee Chang-yong
이창용
26th Governor of the Bank of Korea
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 April 2022
Appointed byMoon Jae-in
Preceded byLee Ju-yeol
Director of Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF
In office
10 February 2014 – March 2022
Appointed byChristine Lagarde
Preceded byAnoop Singh
Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank
In office
March 2011 – 2013
Preceded byJong-Wha Lee
Succeeded byShang-Jin Wei
Vice Chairman of Financial Services Commission
In office
15 March 2008 – 9 November 2009
PresidentLee Myung-bak
Preceded bypost created
Succeeded byKwon Hyouk-se
Personal details
Born (1960-05-16) 16 May 1960 (age 64)
Nonsan, South Chungcheong, South Korea
Alma materSeoul National University (BA)
Harvard University (PhD)
Academic career
FieldEconomics
InstitutionSeoul National University
University of Rochester
Doctoral
advisor		Lawrence Summers

Rhee Changyong (Korean: 이창용; Hanja: 李昌鏞; born 16 May 1960) is a South Korean economist currently serving as the 26th Governor of the Bank of Korea from April 2022.[1]

In March 2022 President Moon Jae-in tapped Rhee who had led the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund over 8 years for the country's top monetary policy chief upon recommendations from president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol.[2][3][4][5] On 19 April, a nomination hearing was held at the National Assembly where his nomination report was adopted and sent to the President.[6] President Moon appointed Rhee on the following day commencing his four-year term as the Governor[1] to minimise the first-ever vacancy of the Governor in Bank's history.[7]

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.[6][8]

Prior to moving to the IMF as the first South Korean to join its senior leadership,[9] Rhee was the chief economist at the Asian Development Bank where he worked as its spokesperson and head of its Economic and Research Department.[10] 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 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 as its Secretary-General and Sherpa.

Rhee holds two degrees in economics - a bachelor from Seoul National University and a doctorate from Harvard University.[4] Rhee completed a doctorate in 1989 at the Harvard University, with Lawrence Summers as his advisor.[11] After his doctoral studies, he taught at economics departments at University of Rochester and Seoul National University.[12]

  1. ^ a b 김, 유아 (2022-04-20). "이창용 한은 총재, 오늘 임명…21일 취임식". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  2. ^ "[속보] 文, 새 한은 총재 후보로 이창용 지명…"尹 당선인 측 의견 수렴"". The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  3. ^ "S.Korea names IMF official Rhee Chang-yong as central bank chief -Yonhap". Reuters. 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  4. ^ a b "Changyong Rhee". IMF. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  5. ^ Herald, Korea (2013-11-27). "IMF names ADB economist as Asia-Pacific head". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  6. ^ a b 박, 상수 (2022-04-19). "(3rd LD) BOK chief nominee vows to adjust monetary policy to tame inflation, engineer 'soft landing' in household debt". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  7. ^ "이창용 후임 지명에도 총재 공백 불가피". 디지털타임스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  8. ^ "Parliament Confirms Rhee Chang-yong as Next Bank of Korea Chief". KBS World Radio. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  9. ^ 오, 창민 (2013-11-27). "한국인 최초로 IMF 아·태국장 임명된 이창용씨 "아시아 목소리 반영 노력"". m.khan.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  10. ^ "Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook". PIIE. 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  11. ^ "Rhee Chang-yong promises balance when he heads Bank of Korea". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Chang Yong Rhee". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-03-23.