Yonsei University Professor Kim Hyun-chul, a Physician and Economist, Appointed as Seoul's Health Director General

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has appointed Kim Hyun-chul, a professor at Yonsei University College of Medicine, as Seoul's Health Director General.

The Seoul Health Director General is a non-permanent, private expert appointed by the city to leverage external expertise and perspectives in municipal administration, with a two-year term.

Health Director General Kim is both a physician and an economist who graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine.

After earning a master's degree in economics from Yonsei University and a master's degree in public health from Seoul National University, he received his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University in the United States.

The city explained that after serving as a professor at Cornell University in the U.S. and being appointed as a tenured professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, he has been recognized as a top-tier researcher in the international economics community.

He is currently active as the 8th Seoul Honorary Mayor (in the field of population and low birth rates) and recently participated as a member of the accompanying growth subcommittee of the G3 Seoul Planning Committee to discuss the future policy directions for Seoul.

The city expressed expectations that Health Director General Kim will provide comprehensive policy advice not limited to the healthcare sector, but examining various factors affecting citizens' health, such as demographic changes, income, education, jobs, and living environments.

"A city's competitiveness is not achieved solely through hardware such as roads and buildings, and the core of its software is ultimately human life," Health Director General Kim said. "Utilizing my lifelong experience studying people as a physician and an economist, I will do my best to practically improve the lives of Seoul citizens."

(Photo: Provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.