 |
| The newly appointed Korea Development Institute (KDI) President Hong Jang-pyo delivers a speech during a ceremony at the KDI in Sejong, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
Hong Jang-pyo, architect of the Moon Jae-in administration's income-led growth policy, was sworn into office as president of the Korea Development Institute (KDI) earlier this week, according to the institute, Thursday.
He succeeds Choi Jeong-pyo for a three-year term.
Hong emphasized the distribution of wealth during a ceremony for his appointment at the state-run institute in Sejong, stressing "the importance of inclusive growth characterized by cycles of growth and distribution in the post-COVID-19 era."
The KDI is a think tank responsible for presenting the government's long-term macroeconomic direction. He promised to enhance the role of the KDI, which operates under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as "the hub of government policies."
To do so, he suggested bolstering joint research with other state-run think tanks on economic and social challenges that must be addressed to improve quality of life.
Among the challenges are jobs, income polarization, low birth rate and aging society.
"I will endeavor to develop agendas that can back the government's medium- and long-term policies," Hong said.
He also vowed to aggressively recruit talented scholars and reward them through "fair, transparent" assessment of their performance.
Hong joins other pro-government, liberal-minded scholars who were newly appointed to lead state institutions during President Moon Jae-in's final year in office.
Hong was Moon's first senior secretary for economic affairs and chaired the income-led growth committee.
He was a professor at Pukyong National University before being named as KDI chief.
He earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in economics at Seoul National University.
![[INTERVIEW] Can art become stable investment source?](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/d9b4b117e5b74f4c931de724ebd2ee68.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Choi Min-sik, Lee Dong-hwi on creating Korean-style noir with 'Big Bet'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/8b795a8f6b42492db4e8fdc47e9abd8d.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Ahn Jae-hong on playing underdog basketball coach in 'Rebound'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/fe381342632c46bfa6d3245cb475676e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
