Speakers

  • Ban ki-moonThe 8th UN Secretary-General A global leader who has built a consensus with the international communities to overcome the climate crisis and achieve sustainable development. He began his career as a diplomat in 1970 and served as 33rd Minister of Foreign Affairs in South Korea. After being elected as the eighth UN Secretary General in 2007, he led the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the largest common goals of the world, and pushed the settlement of the Paris Agreement, aimed at overcoming the climate crisis, during his 10-year tenure. This was made possible because he was committed and worked diligently to resolve the poverty and climate crisis and to mediate disputes and conflicts. After 2019, he served as the Chairman of the National Climate and Environment Meeting for two years. Today, he is working as the Chairman of Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, Chairman of Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Chairman of Ban Ki-moon Center for Global Citizens, Vice Chairman of The Elders, Co-chair of Global Climate Adaptation Center (GCA), and the honorary president of the Seoul National University National Future Strategy Institution.
  • Ahn Cheol-sooMember of National Assembly, People Power Party (Chairman of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee) Ahn Cheol-soo is a doctor, computer programmer, venture company CEO, professor, and politician that has been taking the lead in solving problems in major areas of the Korean society. While running as a candidate for the People Party at the 20th presidential election, he claimed that it is impossible to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 without the energy mix of nuclear energy, renewable energy, and other energies, and he presented a roadmap to deal with the climate crisis. Prior to the inauguration of the Yoon administration, Ahn served as the chairman of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee and actively engaged in encouraging the new administration to reflect the response to the climate crisis in the administration of state affairs. In particular, based on his experience as an outside director of POSCO, he led the discussion on the need for national support in climate change response technology (C Tech; Climate, Clean, Carbon Technology). He was elected for the People Power Party in a by-election for Bundang-A District National Assembly in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
  • James KimChairman of The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea A Korean-American who works actively to strengthen Korea-US economic cooperation. He has served as CEO of global companies including Yahoo Korea, Microsoft Korea, and GM Korea. In 2017, he was appointed as the Chairman and CEO of AMCHAM Korea. Now, he is the chairman of BOD at Mirae Asset Global Investments. As an expert in Korea-US relations, he has highlighted the importance of a Korea-US alliance through major media outlets in Korea and abroad, while making efforts to enhance bilateral investment and trade. He earned a BA in Economics from UCLA and an MA in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
  • Tyler RaschTV personality A TV personality from America who has been dubbed as a language genius and a brain-sexy man. After graduating from the University of Chicago as an International Studies major, he worked for the US Senate Judiciary Committee and the Korean Embassy in the US before flying to Korea to study further. He earned a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Political Science and Diplomacy at Seoul National University on a scholarship provided to students invited by the Korean Government. He debuted on TV on a popular show on JTBC, Abnormal Summit, and has engaged in various activities in Korea. Building on his keen interest in the environment since childhood, he has been working as an ambassador for the World Nature Fund since 2016. In 2020, he published a book There is No Second Earth and illustrated his views on climate change and the environment.
  • Kim Ji-yunRepresentation of GEYK Since 2014, she has taken an interest in climate change, and has since planned and launched a diverse range of projects and campaigns aimed at spurring changes in individuals. She has worked with young people from overseas to solve transnational climate crisis issues and served as a Korean youth representative at the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP). She has not only been involved in civil societies but has also worked as an environmental consultant for the World Bank. Now, she is building a career in climate finance investment. In particular, she began working as the head of the Climate and Environment Division in Seoul Youth Policy Network in 2019. Here she has contributed to the passage of the Seoul Nanum Car EV Subsidy Policy (May 2020) and the Ordinance Amendment Proposal by the Seoul City Bank (May 2021).
  • Kwon Woo-hyunActivist of Korean Federation for Environmental Movement A philosophy major. He was disgusted to see everyone pursuing expansion and surplus filled with violence and destruction these days, so he became an environmental movement coalition activist. Later, he worked as an action team leader and an executive committee member of the Climate Crisis Emergency Action. He works to reduce GHG emissions and energy transition, while searching for the meaning of climate justice. He is committed to bringing light on inequality based on age, social class, and gender amid the climate crisis.
  • Park Jun-seoEco-friendly campaigner (Student of Joongdong high school) A student environmentalist that was drawn into environmental issues by a book that he read as an elementary school student. He believes that small actions like using tumblers and canvas bags can help address environmental problems. He won a Gold Prize in an Environment Presentation at the World Citizen Education Festival. His appearance on Sebashi (a TV show, short for 15 Minutes that Change the World) made him an environmental celebrity. Lately, he has been acting online mostly due to COVID-19. As a small act to save the planet, he launched a live broadcast on social media where he collects used clothes from young viewers and reforms them into ecological bags. He also gave an online lecture to students on carbon neutrality in the Ultimate Development Contest: Growing Up, a government initiative for innovative ideas.
  • Yoo Yeon-chulFormer Ambassador for Climate Change, Ministry of Foreign Affairs A leading climate change diplomat of Korea. Since he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987, he has become the first Korean diplomat to participate in climate change talks aimed at enacting the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 1991. Since then, he has continued to work for environmental issues as the Director of the Environment Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2003, the Director of the Energy and Climate Change Division in 2008, and the Director of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Environment in 2011. He contributed to the establishment of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) as the head of the International Cooperation Team at the Green Growth Committee under the direct control of the President between 2010 and 2011, and he played a pivotal role in attracting Green Climate Fund (GCF) in 2012. After being appointed as the Ambassador for Climate Change in June 2018, he was elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation of the UNFCCC from 2019 and worked as the head of the planning group for the Partnering for Green Growth & Global Goals 2030 (P4G) summit until he retired in June 2021.
  • Yoo Myung-heeAmbassador for Economy and Trade (Former Trade Minister) Yoo Myung-hee is South Korea's first female who leads the Office of the Minister for Trade (2019-2021) as expert in international trade. She has worked in trade-related government departments (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and international organizations for 30 years, during which she established international trade policies and participated in bilateral and multilateral negotiations with several key countries. She contributed to finalizing the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement in 2006 as Director of FTA Service and Investment Negotiation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2018, she served as the chief representative of the Korea-US FTA renegotiation as the head of the trade and negotiation office in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and played a critical role in finalizing the negotiation. She ran for WTO Director General in 2020 going on to the final round, sharing her vision for the restoration and reform of the multilateral trade system. Currently, as Ambassador for International Economy and Trade, she is helping the government establish international economic strategies and supporting diplomatic activities in economy and trade on the basis of her abundant experience and network.
  • Nam Ki-taeProfessor of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National Univ. Nam Ki-tae is an authority on carbon neutrality research. He was the world’s first to succeed in developing a new carbon-neutral fuel through a carbon dioxide conversion system. He has emerged as an influential researcher in materials science and engineering by publishing the results of this research in the world's top scientific journals Nature and Science. He joined the 20th Presidential Transition Committee as a member of the Science and Technology Education Subcommittee to help lay the groundwork for the new government's energy policy. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s in materials science and engineering at Seoul National University and his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was the youngest (age 33) ever to be appointed professor of materials science and engineering at Seoul National University in 2010. He was selected as Young Scientist by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (2020) and received awards such as the Sinyang Cultural Foundation’s Sinyang Engineering Academic Award (2021) and POSCO Cheongam Award for Science (2022).
  • James SkeaProfessor of Sustainable Energy, Imperial College London James Skea is Professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College London with research interests in energy, climate change and technological innovation. His current main role is as Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III for the 6th assessment cycle. He was Research Director of the UK Energy Research Centre 2004-12 and Director of the Policy Studies Institute 1998-2004. He has operated at the interface between research, policy-making and business throughout his career. He was a member of the UK Committee on Climate Change from its inception in 2008 until 2018, and is currently the Chair of Scotland’s Just Transition Commission. From 2015-17, he was President of the UK Energy Institute. He was awarded a CBE for services to sustainable energy in 2013 and an OBE for services to sustainable transport in 2004.
  • Jung Tae-yongProfessor of the Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei Univ. Dr. Jung is currently a professor at the GSIS, Yonsei University and the director of the Sustainable Development Program of Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future. He is also active as the coordinating lead author of the Climate Finance chapter for the Assessment Report (AR) 6 of IPCC, and Director of a think tank called K-Policy Platform. He was a member of the Green Committee and National Council on Climate of Korea International Affairs Division. He was also a professor at KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Chief Climate-Change Expert at the Asia Development Bank, Senior Energy Economist at the World Bank, Director of Climate Change Research at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan, and Researcher at the Korea Energy Economics Institute. He received a bachelor’s degree from Seoul National University and a doctorate in economics from New Jersey State University.
  • Kim Yong-gunDirector of Climate and Air Quality Research Group, Korea Environment Institute Kim is a climate and environment expert who has published numerous papers on academic journals both in Korea and abroad while conducting policy research on the climate and atmosphere for thirty years. He graduated from the Department of Business Administration at Seoul National University and obtained a master's degree in business science from KAIST, and a doctorate in industrial management from the same school. He worked for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Environment Agency as a consultant and participated in the fifth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as the lead author. He is now the lead author for the sixth IPCC assessment report. In 2019, he received the National Medal of Merit for his contribution to the development of Korea's environmental policies. Afterwards, he served as the head of climate economy research as well as the head of planning and coordination at the Korea Environmental Research Institute. In addition, he led the research group for the climate change R&D project named Korean Top-down Integrated Reduction System Development. Starting in June 2016, he worked as the director of the Greenhouse Gas Information Center of the Ministry of Environment for two years.
  • Joyashree RoyProfessor of Asia Institute of Technology Joyashree Roy is an Indian economist specializing in environmental economics, energy economics, and climate change. She was a professor of economics at Jadavpur University in India before she became the Inaugural Bangabandhu Chair Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand. She is a national fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICCSR) and one of the authors of the IPCC 4th Assessment Report, which won her the Nobel Peace Prize. Currently, she is the Coordinating Lead Author of the 3rd Working Group in the IPCC 6th assessment cycle.
  • Keywan RiahiProgram Director of Energy, Climate, and Environment Program, IIASA Last year, Riahi topped the Reuter’s 1000 most influential climate scientists in the world list. He is Director of the Energy, Climate and Environment (ECE) Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria. He is also working as a visiting professor in the Department of Energy Systems Analysis at the Technical University of Graz and as an outside professor at the Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies. He participated as the lead author and editor of the third, fourth, and fifth IPCC Assessment Reports and served as the lead author of the third working group on the sixth Assessment Report. He is one of the ten experts that advise on the UN Technology Promotion Mechanism supporting the implementation of the UN SDGs, and a member of the European Scientific Advisory Committee on Climate Change established according to the European Climate Act.
  • Axel TimmermannDirector of IBS Center for Climate Physics (PNU Distinguished Professor) Axel Timmermann is a world-renowned climate scientist. After obtaining his PhD in meteorology from the University of Hamburg, Germany, he served as a leader of a research team at the Institute of Oceanography at Kiel University, Germany, and then as a professor at the University of Hawaii, USA. In January 2017, he was appointed as the Director of Climate Physics Research at the Institute of Basic Science (IBS) at Busan National University. In 2008, he won a Rosensteel Award, which is a prestigious award in the field of marine science and became an academic member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2015. In 2017, he received the Milutin Milankovitch medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to paleoclimate studies from the European Geosciences Union. He is the author of over 200 papers on El Niño-Southern Oscillations, glacial cycles, abrupt climate change, climate prediction, and human migration. He became the world’s most influential researcher as designated by Clarivate Analytics for four consecutive years between 2018 and 2021.
  • Paul DickinsonCDP Founder (RE100 Campaign Director) Paul founded CDP in 2000 with an ambition of creating a global economic system that operates within sustainable environmental boundaries and prevents dangerous climate change. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of over US$100 trillion, CDP leverage investor power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts. In addition, CDP represents the purchasing power of over 100 corporations with aggregate purchasing spend of over $4 trillion. In response to this enormous authority, over 13000 large companies representing over 50% of global market capitalization disclosed data regarding climate change as well as other environmental data through CDP in 2020. This is in addition to the over 1000 major cities, states and regions disclosed through, making CDP’s platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change.

    Paul is Chair of the Trustees of the NGO ShareAction as well as a Trustee of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. He is an advisor to the NGO Influence Map and is a trustee of the grant making Friends Provident Foundation. He is a co-presenter of the leading climate change podcast in the world: ‘Outrage and Optimism’ with Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, with over 2 million downloads.
  • Yeom Jae-hoChairman of the Board of Directors of SK Corporation (The 19th Chancellor of Korea Univ.) A graduate from the Department of Public Administration of Korea University School of Law, he received his PhD in Political Science from Stanford University. He served as the 19th Chancellor of Korea University while working as a professor of public administration. He has also worked as a visiting researcher and foreign professor at Hitotsubashi University and University of Tsukuba in Japan, Griffith University in Australia, Renmin University and Peking University in China, and Brighton University in the UK. He served as the president of the Korean Association for Policy Studies and the president of the Contemporary Japanese Society. In the public realm, he has contributed to the making of government policies as the Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director of Management Evaluation of Public Institutions, the Chairman of the Postal Service Operation, the National Science and Technology Commission, and the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection for Innovation and Development. Currently, Yum is a Professor Emeritus of Korea University, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SK Corporation, Chairman of the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation, and Chairman of the Foundation of Taejae Digital University.
  • Woo Tae-heeVice president of Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Woo is working to ensure ESG practices take root in the Korean business landscape. After he began his career in the public office as the youngest person to get highest score in the 27th Civil Service Examination, he served in key positions in the Ministry of Industry, including the chief industrial policy officer, the industrial technology policy officer, and a trade negotiator. He has an international mindset with his experience as a commercial officer at the Korean embassy in the US. His 1998 thesis that he wrote at the Graduate School of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley University received the Most Outstanding Thesis Award by Professor Condoleezza Rice, the former US Secretary of State. These days, he is making a name for himself as an ESG evangelist touting, “What matters now is how companies made money instead of how much money they have made,” after becoming a full-time vice president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce in 2020.
  • Lee Kwan-seopVice president of Korea International Trade Association As a public officer who passed the 27th Administrative Examination, Lee is known as being one of the most renowned figure in Korean energy policies. He served as the Minister of Industrial and Economic Policy of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Director of Energy Business Policy, and Director of Energy Resources Office. After working as the head of industrial policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, he was appointed as the second first vice minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Since then, Lee has served as Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power President and President of the World Nuclear Power Operators Association. After being appointed as a full-time vice president of the Korea International Trade Association, he has been representing the voice of domestic exporters, emphasizing government support in achieving carbon neutrality.
  • Lee Dong-geunVice president of Korea Enterprises Federation Lee is an expert in economy and labor. Having passed the 23rd Civil Service Examination, he served in several key positions in major economic departments, such as deputy director of the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Director of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy; and Director of Trade and Investment at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. From 2010 to 2017, he served as the full-time Vice Chair of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and faithfully represented the position of the business community. He also contributed to the advancement of labor-management relations by participating as a representative of the business community of the Tripartite Commission. Later, he served as the CEO of the Hyundai Economic Research Institute and is considered to have provided rational alternatives to domestic and international economic issues. Since he took office as the 7th full-time Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) in February 2021, he has been striving to resolve the difficulties that Korean companies are facing in regard to greenhouse gas reduction.
  • Hong Jong-hoProfessor of Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National Univ. A master of the environmental sector in Korea, Hong is currently teaching environment and energy economics and sustainable policies at the Graduate School of Environment at the Seoul National University. He has criticized government projects that do not have economic or environmental considerations and is researching a forward-looking and sustainable policies on climate, energy, and the environment. After graduating from the SNU School of Economics, he acquired a PhD in economics from Cornell University in the field of energy and the environment. He is a former Fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), a professor at Hanyang University's College of Economics and Finance, president of the Korean Finance Association and the Korea Environmental Economics Association, a consultant to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and a member of the Presidential Advisory Sustainable Development Committee, and the Presidential Fiscal Reform Special Committee. Currently, he is working as a standing co-representative of the Energy Conversion Forum, and as a policy advisory member of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • Kim Hyon-jinAdjunct Professor of Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies Kim Hyon-jin is currently a special professor at Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies, a civilian member of the Financial Policy Advisory Council of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, non-executive director of Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), and chair of the SK Discovery ESG Committee (outside director). She graduated from the department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Ewha Womans University and Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, after which she earned her master’s and doctoral degree in international relations at the University of Tokyo, Japan. She served as a visiting researcher at Harvard University and as a senior researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute. She also served as a member of the Presidential Committee on National Energy and Presidential Committee on Green Growth, through which she contributed to establishing major government policies on energy and the environment. She is the head professor of the climate change leadership and green growth courses jointly developed with the Climate Change Center, through which she has provided energy and environment education for top leaders in the academia, industry, politics, media, and civic groups and produced more than 380 green leaders representing each community. She has also published books titled Energy Shift (2022) and Green Management: A Low-Carbon Economy Changes Wealth (2010).
  • Kang Ju-yupHead of New Business Planning Group, Kia Kang took the lead in establishing Kia's future strategy Plan S focused on a preemptive transition to EV and purpose-based mobility strategies, and he is constantly coming up with new ways to deal with the future of the rapidly changing automobile industry. He earned his master’s in mechanical design at Seoul National University, after which he joined Daewoo Motors Technology Research Center as a researcher. Later, he served as the general consultant at LG CNS Entrue Consulting and PM for the consulting department at SK Planet, after which he joined Kia, where he served as the manager of the Growth Strategy Team and head of the Innovation Group of Business Strategy Team.
  • Choi Young-minLG Chem Battey Materials Development Group Leader, Vice President He is leading R&D and business on major cell materials including cathodes for lithium secondary batteries at LG Chem. He has contributed to the securing of the global leadership status of LG Chem in the cathode business by developing cathode materials for third generation EVs that have a driving range of more than 300 miles. He has a PhD from KAIST School of Materials Science and Engineering for his study on cathode materials for lithium secondary batteries. Prior to joining LG Chem, he worked as the Research Master at Samsung Electronics Technology Institute and as the Director of Research at GS Energy, where he led the development of lithium secondary batteries and electrode materials. He is designated as Korea’s representative researcher in the field of lithium secondary batteries and cathode materials and is now working as the only Korean member of the BOD of the International Meeting on Lithium Batteries (IMLB) having started in 2017.
  • Kim Chan-hoChief Executive Officer of CJ FOODVILLE Kim’s management philosophy at CJ Foodville follows the belief that a proactive response to climate change guarantees a company’s sustainability. Building on this philosophy, he declared ESG management this year, established an ESG organization and consultative group under the CEO’s direct control. Considering that CJ Foodville holds the leadership position in Korea’s restaurant business, this is expected to exert a positive influence in the industry. A graduate from Konkuk University's Department of Agricultural Chemistry, he joined CJ CheilJedang in 1993 and became the CEO of CJ Foodville and is a so-called “CJ man” with 30-long years of experience in the group.
  • Anne ShinNTO(National Technology Officer) of Microsoft Korea An ICT expert who has worked in the cloud business for over 20 years. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Sungsil University Department of Computer Science, she earned her master’s and PhD at Korea University Department of Computer Science. She began her career at the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and served as vice chairman of the biometric division of the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). She gained experience in financial security working at the Financial Security Agency and the Electronic Finance Team at the Bank of Korea. Before joining Microsoft, she worked as a Director of Solution Design for Amazon Web Services (AWS). She is currently working on ESG management tasks and has been designated as the National Technology Officer (NTO) by Microsoft.
  • Lee Jung-hoonDeputy Director of Edaily He is working hard to refine the concept of ESG management with an approach centered on the environment. He analyzes the impact of the climate crisis on the market from the perspective of each party involved and examines the best solutions. He held monthly ESG webinars in collaboration with Jipyong Law Firm to create buzz around ESG, and published serials such as Jung-hoon Lee’s ESG story, which received favorable reviews. A founding member of EDAILY (in 2000), he served as a New York correspondent, global market news manager, securities market manager, and social department manager. Today, he works as a macro editor (deputy director) of the EDAILY editorial board and is responsible for content covering the economic, political, social, and international sectors.
  • Kim Sung-wooHead of Environment & Energy Research Institute, Kim&Chang Kim Sung-woo was the first Korean to be appointed as a member of the Future External Advisory Group on Sustainability at World Bank and is a director of the International Emission Trading Association (IETA). He also served as Regional Head of Asia Pacific in Climate Change and Sustainability (CC&S) at KPMG and is considered one of South Korea’s best global experts in environmental energy and social responsibility. He studied earth sciences and mathematics at Korea University and the University of Louisville and earned his master’s in Civil and environmental engineering at Duke University and Ph.D. in business administration at Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies (aSSIST). He worked in the Environment and Energy Division, New Business Development Division, and the Investment Business Division at POSCO, where he was in charge of environmental and energy management as well as new business development and investment related to climate change. At KPMG, he was in charge of the company’s advisory work by leading climate change and sustainability teams in 12 countries including China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. He has also received the Industrial Award and the Prime Minister's Citation for attracting the Green Climate Fund to Songdo and for finding new energy industries.
  • Lim Dae-woongKorea Representative of UNEP Finance Initiative Im is expert in climate change, ESG, green finance, and sustainable development and has been the Korea Representative for the UNEP Financial Initiative since 2015. Previously, he joined Ecofrontier in 1995, advising on climate environment policies and ESG management strategies. He founded Eco & Partners in 2014 and BNZ Partners in 2020 to carry out projects on various environmental issues including carbon neutrality, RE100, green finance, carbon credit business investment, climate technology investment, and block chain. Today, he is working as a secretary of the Economics and Industry Division of the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Committee, the Financial Development Council of the Financial Services Commission and the Green Finance Promotion Group. He is an advisory member of the Deposit Insurance Advisory Committee of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation. He acquired the master’s degree in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh, UK.
  • Ahn Wook-sangGeneral Manager of Korea Development Bank ESG·New Deal Planning Department Ahn promotes the decarbonization of industries in Korea by supplying funds, such as green finance and conversion finance. He is also supporting the implementation of the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Agreement in Korea and the Paris Agreement. Prior to this, he offered financial consultations for renewable businesses and arranged the business in Korea and abroad while working in the Project Financing team and the Climate Change team for the power generation project financing (PF) team and the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF) certification. Before joining the Korea Development Bank, he provided export credit for the energy business sector in developing countries at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.
  • Kim Sung-juHead of Financial Supervisory Service Sustainable Finance Team Kim is taking the lead in promoting sustainability and climate finance in the financial sector in Korea. He holds climate risk forums together with the Financial Services Commission, in addition to study meetings and seminars to increase public awareness on climate risk in the financial sector. Furthermore, he engages in research and gives lectures to disseminate the climate finance authority’s role. He has accumulated experience in the finance sector in Korea and abroad as the head of the Future Finance Research Team and the Sustainable Finance Team at the International Bureau, Financial Supervisory Service. He received his BA in Information and MS in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University, USA.
  • Kwak Jae-sikProfessor of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Soongsil Cyber Univ. He became famous for his fun and easy-to-understand explanations of science after appearing on some TV shows, such as Late Night Ghost Talk from MBC and My Library that Reads for Me on tvN STORY. He majored in nuclear and quantum engineering at KAIST and gained experience in environmental issues at LG Chem as a person in charge of analysis and development of environmental safety data systems in the Safety and Environment Team. He is now teaching how to identify and solve the causes of environmental pollutants at Soongsil Cyber University. His 2022 book, The Planet is Fine. We Are the Culprits tells us about the climate change controversy, while also providing some points of common sense and information we need to know in the era of climate change.
  • Lee Joo-ryangSenior Research Fellow of Division of Strategic Planning & Administration, STEPI Lee is the Head of Strategic Planning and Management, after previously serving as the Green Bio R&D Team Leader and the Innovation Growth Policy Research Division Director at the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, where researchers study and analyze science and technology, and innovation policies. She is working to find ways to address the food crisis through smart farming that combines agriculture and ICT. Prior to that, she worked as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Shanghai Academy of Sciences, a member of the Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science and Technology Committee, and as a director of the Agricultural Economics Association. In recognition of her contributions to research and activities in the field of smart agriculture, she received the Minister of Agriculture Award and Food and Rural Affairs Award in 2017, and the Industry 4.0 Innovation Committee Chairman’s Award under direct control of the President in 2020.
  • Oh Myoung-hwanAssociate Professor of Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH) Oh is a scientist who is searching for practical measures to solve the climate crisis by developing innovative climate technologies. He appeared on Sebashi (a popular TV show, short for 15 Minutes that Change the World) where he gave explanations, from the perspective of a chemical engineer, on the current climate crisis situation and our response strategy in such way that the public can understand them more easily. He also communicates with the public on the Government YouTube channel. After earning a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Seoul National University, he worked as a researcher at the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and as a researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis.