KEI Contributor

YEO Han-koo currently serves as South Korea’s Minister for Trade and is a veteran trade negotiator who has been involved in many of South Korea’s trade negotiations over the last two decades.

Prior to becoming Minister for Trade, Yeo served as a presidential secretary in the Blue House for President Moon Jae-in’s signature New Southern Policy and New Northern Policy. He also has extensive experience in the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy where he was appointed to multiple directorships over the past 25 years. Minister Yeo has also worked on climate issues, acting as the World Bank Group’s Senior Investment Policy Officer in the Investment Climate Department between 2010 and 2014.

While serving as the Director of the International Economic & Industrial Policy Bureau for the National Economic Advisory Council in the Presidential Office, Yeo also lectured at the KDI School of Public Policy in South Korea. He has also published multiple works in both English and Korean, including a Harvard Business School case study about the Kaesong Industrial Complex, and a chapter in the World Bank’s “Special Economic Zones.” Yeo has been awarded the International Finance Corporation Performance Award and an Achievement Award from the President of the Republic of Korea, along with many other accolades.

He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Business Administration from Seoul National Universit