Won-su Kim leads global cooperation and governance research as Chairman of the International Advisory Board at the Taizae Future Strategy Institute after more than 40 years of public service, both domestically and internationally. He is also involved in research and practical activities related to new human civilization discourse as Director of the Future Civilization Institute at Kyung Hee University. Kim served as a Korean diplomat for 30 years and as an international civil servant for over 10 years. As a Korean diplomat, he held roles such as Presidential Secretary for International Security and Foreign Affairs and Trade, and served as Director-General for Policy Planning and Ambassador for Regional Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He successfully led Ban Ki-moon’s campaign for UN Secretary-General during Ban’s tenure as Foreign Minister. Following this, Kim held various senior positions at the United Nations, including Representative of the Secretary-General’s Transition Team, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General, High-level Coordinator for UN system-wide responses, and Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament. Kim studied at Seoul National University (Bachelor of Law), earned a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and completed further studies at Stanford Law School (master’s and Ph.D. candidate). He was a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Asia-Pacific Research. Kim is also a distinguished professor at Yonsei University, Incheon University, and Kyung Hee University, and continues to provide advisory services to international organizations, including serving on the Wise Persons Group of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in Vienna and as a board member of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens.

Hyung Suk Kim, Chairman of the Board at The Unitiative, also serves as a professor at Daejin University and the Chairman of the South-North Sports Exchange Committee at the Korean Sports Council. Born in Boseong, Jeollanam-do, he began his public service career by passing the 32nd Administrative Examination in 1988 and has served in various positions at the Ministry of Unification since 1993, establishing himself as an expert in unification policy. He served as the Presidential Secretary for Unification and concluded his public service career as the 23rd Vice Minister of Unification in 2017. After graduating from Suncheon High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Seoul National University, as well as a Ph.D. in Political Science (with a focus on North Korean studies) from Kyonggi University. His published work includes Introduction to Unification Studies through Stories (2020).

Soohyun Bae is a Director at Envisioning Partners, where she is responsible for startup investments in the climate tech, edtech, and healthcare sectors. She has also developed the framework and measurement approach for Envisioning’s impact investments. Previously, she served as the CEO of Public Ground, a real estate impact investment firm, and worked as a management consultant at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Currently, she is a board member of Root Impact, which fosters the impact ecosystem, and of Duroo, a public interest law organization. Since 2019, she has also served as a judge for the East Asia region of the Cartier Women’s Initiative, an annual award recognizing global women entrepreneurs. Soohyun Bae graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Business Administration and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

After graduating from the Department of Trade at Seoul National University, he earned a Ph.D. in Economics from Northern Illinois University in the United States. He began his public service career in 1977 at the Ministry of Finance after passing the national civil service examination and later worked as a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During his time in public service, he was part of the team that helped South Korea overcome the 1997 financial crisis, leading efforts such as negotiating foreign debt maturities and issuing foreign exchange stabilization bonds. As Director-General of Financial Policy at the Ministry of Finance and Economy from 2001 to 2004, he played a key role in financial and corporate restructuring, overseeing the sale of Choheung Bank and Seoul Bank, as well as the normalization of Hynix and LG Card. In 2005, he resigned from public service and founded Bogo Fund. He currently serves as an advisor at VIG Partners. In 2001, he was named one of 15 people to watch in the global economy by The Wall Street Journal.

He Len Shin specializes in modern American, Korean, and Japanese culture, media, and critical theory. Her recent research focuses on digital media, technologies of presence, racial/ethnic discourse, and the ontology of the “Other,” particularly within the science fiction genre and the ethics of artificial intelligence. She has written papers on topics such as techno-orientalism, the affective aesthetics of the apocalypse genre, cyber fandom and trolling, alternative temporalities in digital cinema, posthuman politics, and religious discourse. Following her book Technologies of Presence (Ontology in the Age of Cyber Culture), she is currently working on a series of books: Technologies of Alienation (Asian American Science Fiction) and Technologies of Discrimination (21st Century Korean Cinema). She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at Korea University, where she also serves as the Director of the AI Ethics & Policy Center.

Seok-jun Lee is an expert with over 20 years of experience providing legal counsel across the full spectrum of global corporate management. He is a U.S. attorney, having graduated from the Department of Economics at Seoul National University and Vanderbilt University Law School. He gained experience in both the Korean and U.S. capital markets during critical periods. During the Korean financial crisis, he worked in the Research Department No. 1 and the Governor’s Office at the Bank of Korea. Later, he worked in the Corporate Finance Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the U.S. corporate accounting reform law established after the Enron scandal). Starting in 2005, he provided comprehensive legal counsel for global corporations at renowned U.S. law firms, including Davis Polk & Wardwell, Clifford Chance, and Latham & Watkins. He has successfully led the U.S., Hong Kong, and domestic listings of leading companies both in Korea and abroad.

Jae Cheon Choi passed the bar exam in 1987 and began his career as a lawyer specializing in medical lawsuits, representing victims, which was considered a venture-like challenge at the time. In 2004, he entered politics as a member of the 17th National Assembly and, although he lost in the 18th election, he was re-elected in the 19th Assembly. After deciding not to run for office again, he returned to his life as a scholar. During his time in the National Assembly, he served as a ruling party secretary of the Judiciary Committee and an opposition secretary of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, focusing on issues like inter-Korean relations, US-China relations, and economic ties between Korea and the US. Within the Democratic Party, he also served as the head of strategy and public relations and as chair of the party’s policy committee, representing the party’s positions in TV debates. He later served as the head of the planning subcommittee of the National Integration Committee, working toward social and political unity, but stepped down from that role and returned to his scholarly pursuits. Choi refers to himself as a “bookworm,” constantly pushing himself to read, think, and learn more. His main interests include global strategy, the future of the Korean Peninsula in the context of geopolitics and geoeconomics, and sustainable development for the country and its citizens. His hobbies include reading, thinking, debating, meeting people, and enjoying conversations over a drink.