Since 1992, he has been with KDI or KDI School during which he served for the government three times. The first position (1998-2001) was Division Head for Administrative Reform in the Ministry of Planning and Budget. The second (2012-13) was the Executive Director, Research Center for SOEs, and the third one (2018-20) was the founding President of the National Assembly Futures Institute. His academic interest covers government reform including state-owned enterprises, development economics, future studies and conflict management. He received his B.A. in economics from Seoul National University, and Ph.D. in economics from University of Pennsylvania (1991).