Min Sunshik is the Chairman of YBM Holdings, a leading education service company in Korea. As Head and Chairman of Korea International School, Co-Chair of the Education Committee of American Chamber of Commerce Korea, and Member of Harvard Global Advisory Council, he has been an active member of Korea’s international cooperation and education sector, especially in promoting Korean Studies overseas. Mr. Min, who graduated from Seoul National University, received his master’s degree from MIT Sloan School of Management, and a doctor’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University.

Kim Jin-Hyun is Chairman of the World Peace Forum and Adviser, Korea-American Association. He started his career as a journalist, working for Dong-A Ilbo in various key positions and shaping opinion while serving chief editorial board. He later went on to become Minister of Science and Technology and also Chairman and Publisher of Munhwa Ilbo, Chairman of Research Advisory Committee, Korea International Trade Asso. He is now Chairman, National Strategy Forum that promotes policies for advancing Korean society. He received his B.A. in Sociology from Seoul National University and received an honorary doctorate degree in Economics from Korea University. He is also a Nieman Fellow, a prestigious fellowship for journalists at Harvard University.

Kathleen Stephens is the chair of the Korean Society and former president of the Korea Economic Institute of America. She was formerly a William J. Perry Fellow in the Korea Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC). Amb. Stephens, a career diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service, was Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in 2012, and U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, 2008-2011.

During her diplomatic career, she served in numerous posts in Washington, Asia, and Europe. From 2005 to 2007 she was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP). While Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) from 2003 to 2005, she focused on post-conflict and stabilization issues in the Balkans. She was Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration. Stephens’ overseas postings included service in China, Korea, Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Portugal, and Trinidad & Tobago.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from Prescott College, and holds a master’s degree from Harvard University, along with honorary doctoral degrees from Chungnam National University and the University of Maryland. She was senior State Department Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 2011-2012. She serves as Vice Chair of the Pacific Century Institute Board of Directors, is on the board of The Korea Society, and is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy. Ambassador Stephens studied at the University of Hong Kong. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea in the 1970s.

Eun Mee Kim is President of Ewha Womans University. She is also Professor in the Graduate School of International Studies, Director of the Ewha Global Health Institute for Girls and former Dean of the Graduate School and the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University. She served as President of the Korea Association of International Development and Cooperation (2011, 2012). She has served as a member on the Committee for International Development Cooperation under the Prime Minister’s Office, the Policy Advisory Committee in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Policy Advisory Committee in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. 

In 2012, she received the Service Merit Medal from the Republic of Korea for her contributions to the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan. In 2013, she received the first research grant to a university in South Korea from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on her research project entitled, “Advocacy for Korean Engagement in Global Health and Development.” In 2016, she received a second grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a project entitled, “Korea Global Health Strategy.” In December 2016, she was appointed by the UN as one of 15 scientists in the world to work on the Global Sustainable Development Report 2019.

Rae Eun Sung is the Group Vice Chairman and CEO of Youngone Holdings Co., Ltd., a holdings company with subsidiaries mainly engaged in the manufacturing (OEM of global retail brands), distribution, and retail of outdoor wear, sportswear, and equipment. Aside from her executive roles in Youngone, Rae Eun Sung is a Board Member of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Korea Office, a Vice President of The Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles, a Vice President of Korean National Ballet Society. She is an active member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), which is a global leadership community of chief executives. In 2021, she was awarded the Nation’s Honorable Recognition Medal from Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy for her devoted contribution to the textile and fashion industry. Rae Eun Sung is a proud alumni of Choate Rosemary Hall, and she holds a B.A. in Sociology from Stanford University.

Jeongdo Hong is the Vice Chairman and CEO of JoongAng Group, the largest media and entertainment group in Korea. He is concurrently CDXO of JTBC, the fastest growing general programming channel in Korea since he founded it in December 2011. He also leads the digital transformation of JoongAng Ilbo, a major national newspaper.

Since Mr. Hong joined the JoongAng Group in 2005, he has developed overall corporate strategies for the group. In 2009, he led the paper’s groundbreaking project to switch to the Berliner printing format, the first such innovative change in Asia. Under his leadership, JTBC has emerged as the most influential channel in Korea by offering news, documentaries, dramas and a variety of entertainment programs on five channels: JTBC, JTBC2, JTBC Fox Sports, JTBC4 and JTBC Golf.

Mr. Hong expanded the group’s business fields to the entertainment and resort industry by merging and acquiring movie theater franchise, Megabox in 2011, and Phoenix Hotels and Resorts in 2016.

Mr. Hong served as a member of the WAN-IFRA(World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers) Asia Pacific Committee and was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2010. Mr. Hong studied at Yonsei University in Seoul before earning his BA in Economics from Wesleyan University and his MBA from Stanford University.

H.S. Cho is the Vice Chairman of Hyosung Group. He is the board member of Hyosung Corporation as well as a number of Hyosung Group subsidiaries. Hyosung Group is a global enterprise with over 25,000 employees working at 100 business sites. With annual revenue of over US 16 billion dollars, Hyosung oversees various businesses including advanced industrial materials, textiles, chemicals, energy, heavy industry, construction, ICT, trading, and automotive retail.

Mr. Cho holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Brown University. He worked at Bain & Company, Seoul and Tokyo as a consultant, and NTT Communications Tokyo (HQ), a global ICT company, as a sales manager. He joined Hyosung Group in 1998 as a corporate consultant for the Group’s restructuring project during the Asian financial crisis.

Mr. Cho was recognized for his contributions as a leader from profound institutions and organizations. He was selected by the government of Korea, Japan, and China as “Asia’s future leader” in 2005 and by Asia Society of USA as “Asia 21 Global Young Leader” in 2006. He was also the recipient of the World Economic Forum's “Young Global Leaders(YGL)” in 2007 for his achievements in leading Hyosung’s sustainable growth. He also actively led the World Economic Forums' G20 Initiative during the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010.

He is Co-Chair of the SFIA(Seoul Forum of International Affairs) Ambassador Forum. Also, he has contributed to the development of Korean culture and arts by serving as a founding member and Chair of the Young Friends of Museum(YFM), the patron for the National Museum of Korea since 2007, and as a member of the Patron for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art since 2011.

Mr. Cho has interest and passion in various fields including history, travel, music, photography, gastronomy, sports such as speed skating, soccer and baseball. He is especially interested in supporting the socially disadvantaged as President of the Hyosung Sharing Volunteer Group, an outreach organization of Hyosung Group.

Laurel E. Miller joined The Asia Foundation as president and chief executive officer in February 2023 and is responsible for leading all aspects of the organization. 

Laurel is an experienced leader whose background spans nonprofit, public policy, private sector, and governmental roles. Before joining The Asia Foundation, she served as director of the Asia Program for the International Crisis Group, an organization dedicated to conflict prevention and resolution. Previously, she was a senior foreign policy expert at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit policy research and analysis organization. Her work covered a wide range of subjects, including peace processes, institution-building, economic and security assistance, and governance.

She has served in several positions in the US government, including deputy and then acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Department of State. In prior roles, she was senior advisor to the assistant secretary of state for European Affairs, senior advisor to the United States special envoy for the Balkans, and deputy to the ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues. She was directly involved in peace negotiations in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. Laurel also served as director for western hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council. Currently, she is a congressionally appointed member of the bipartisan Afghanistan War Commission, charged by Congress with reviewing US involvement in the region. Laurel also has been a senior expert at the US Institute of Peace. Earlier, she practiced law with Covington & Burling in Washington, DC, and Brussels, after serving as a law clerk on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She was an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington and a Rotary Foundation fellow in Delhi. She also worked as a staff reporter for the Japan Times in Tokyo. 

She is a graduate of Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the University of Chicago Law School.

Lee Kyung-Sook is the acting country representative for The Asia Foundation in Korea. Prior to her current role, she served as director of programs overseeing and managing the Foundation's programs in the country, including accelerating women’s business, North Korean refugee entrepreneurship, Korean government-funded violence against women in Mongolia, and international relations and exchange programs.

As Korea transformed from an aid recipient to an aid donor and joined OECD Development Aid Committee (DAC) in 2010, the Korea office emphasized supporting Korea’s role as an aid provider to developing countries in Asia. As a development professional, Kyung-sook took the lead and implemented a Korean government funded capacity-building program (2008-2020) for young development professionals from Korean government agencies, NGOs, and advanced development studies students. She also played a critical role in bridging KOICA (Korea’s aid agency) and The Asia Foundation’s country offices for Korea’s ODA funding. 

From 1991 to 2000, Kyung-sook served as a program officer and, from 2001-2015, a senior program officer focused on women’s empowerment, governance, and promoting democracy in Korea.

Kyung-sook served on the Resource Allocation Committee of the Community Chest of Korea (2009-2011 and 2019-2021) and has been invited to participate in the KOICA’s ad hoc project selection committee for the Public-Private Partnership grants to Korean NGOs (2011-current).

Moon Kook-Hyun is the former Chief Executive Officer of Yuhan-Kimberly, Limited, which is a 70:30 joint venture company between Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Yuhan Corporation in Korea, and the former Group President and Chairman of the Board, KC North Asia.
He received a bachelor’s degree in English and Business Administration from HanKook University of Foreign Studies and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Seoul National University.

He has been an environmental leader for 30+ years. He initiated “Keep Korea Green”, the first company-sponsored environmental campaign in Korea in 1984, which created mountain paths, “Forest for Life”, “Forest for Schools”, “Forest for Peace”, “Northeast Asia Forest Forum”, UNEPLC, and numerous activities for youth, newly-weds and opinion leaders in the country.

His efforts on environmental protection and education have been recognized by the United Nations Environmental Program with its prestigious award, named “Global 500 Roll of Honor” in 1997. He also received the Asian Environmental Award from Korea/Japan Daily Consortium in 1998.
He also served as Chairman of the People-Centered New Competitiveness Presidential Committee (2004~2005). He is the Founding Chair of Peter Drucker Society of Korea (2005).

Han Sung-Joo is a Professor Emeritus at Korea University. Prof. Han previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993-94), UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Cyprus (1996-97), a member of the UN Inquiry Commission on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (1999), Chairman of the East Asia Vision Group (2000-2001), Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States (2003-2005), and Acting President of Korea University (2002, 2006-2007).

Prof. Han is a graduate of Seoul National University (1962) and received a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley (1970). Previously, he taught at City University of New York (1970-78) and was a visiting Professor at Columbia University (1986-87) and Stanford University (1992, 1995). He was also a Distinguished Fellow at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (1986-87).
His English publications include Korean Diplomacy in an Era of Globalization (1995), Korea in a Changing World (1995), Changing Values in Asia (1999), and ON THE BRINK (A Korean Diplomat’s Journey for Peace) (2018). He has many publications in Korean, including Nam Gwa Puk, kurigo Sekye (The Two Koreas and the World) (2000).

Lee Hong-Koo is Chairman of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs and a Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University in Korea. He has had a long and distinguished career in academia, government, and politics.
After graduating from Oxford College in 1957 and Emory College in 1959, Dr. Lee received a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University and went on to hold professorships at Emory, Case Western Reserve University, and Seoul National University. His early government service included appointments as Minister of National Unification (1988) and Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1991). From 1994-96, he served as Prime Minister of Korea in President Kim Young Sam’s government. In 1998, at the height of the Asian financial crisis, he was posted to Washington as Ambassador to the United States.