Il Houng Lee

Former G-20 Sherpa for Korea and President, KIEP,

Dr. Il Houng Lee is the president of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) since August 2013. He has been leading a number of studies on trade, international finance, macroeconomics and developments in emerging economies. He is also a visiting professor at Jilin University in China. From 2013 to 2015, Dr. Lee served as the Ambassador for International Cooperation and G20 Sherpa. During his term as the Ambassador, he coordinated the G20 activities of the Korean government.

Prior to his appointment as the Ambassador, he was with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for more than 20 years. As an economist, he was assigned in particular on Asian economies including Japan, China, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. His research interests include macroeconomics, international finance, monetary policy, growth and income inequality. He was the IMF Chief Resident Representative in Vietnam from 2005 to 2007 and also a lecturer at National Economics University in Hanoi. In 2007, he was an advisor in the Asia-Pacific department of the IMF and from 2010, he worked as the IMF Chief Resident Representative in China. Dr. Lee earned his B.A. in Economics at London School of Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics at Warwick University in the UK.

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