Scholar with expertise in global trade tapped as new trade minister
Cheong In-kyo, 2nd from left, speaks at the Economic Security Conference in Washington D.C., Dec. 12, 2023. Yonhap
Cheong In-kyo, named as Korea's new trade minister on Wednesday, is a scholar specializing in economic security with experiences of participating in key free trade agreement negotiations.
Cheong served as a researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and also as a professor at Inha University, focusing on trade policies and economic security.
He participated in Korea's major FTA negotiations, including those with Chile and the United States.
Cheong also has experience serving as an adviser for various government bodies, including the finance, industry and foreign ministries.
He took the post of the president of the Korean Security Agency of Trade and Industry in August last year.
The 62-year-old earned his doctor's degree in economics at Michigan State University.
His appointment does not require a parliamentary confirmation. While he is granted the title of minister, the position holds the rank of a vice minister. (Yonhap)