Korea Panel

A turning point to the stage of G-7?

What challenges await Korea as it takes its next great economic leap? How can Korea compete against a new level of fierce global competition? Korea has established itself as the world's top semiconductor manufacturer, the world's top five auto maker, and the world's broadband capital, but it is too early to celebrate. Korea Panel is honored to have three distinguished speakers to discuss the future of Korea, the land of the morning calm.

Dr. Won Suk Cho
President, Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc.

Dr. Cho is the current President of Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. with offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Irvine, Chino, Sacramento, and California City, California.

Dr. Cho received his undergraduate and Masters degrees from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and a Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1987. He was also a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science at Carnegie Mellon University from 1987 to 1989.

Prior to his current position, he was a Senior Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company in Namyang, Korea, and was in charge of developing alternative fuel vehicles with various technologies such as fuel cells and hybrid electric systems. He was also intimately involved with research into next generation energy sources, the evolution of automotive recycling technologies, the development of specialty alloys, as well as lean burn engine and diesel oxidation catalyst technologies.

He has served on several advisory and planning committees for the Korean Government including those for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). He has also been the author of some 40 papers in scientific and technological conferences and journals.

Dr. Soohoon Bae
Professor, Graduate School of Management, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Dr. Soonhoon Bae is Professor at the Graduate School of Management, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He obtained a Ph.D. degree in Engineering from M.I.T. in 1970. He spent most of his career in the industry as an engineer and manager. His engineering management activities cover a wide range of industrial fields starting from the engineering design of refrigeration equipment, process equipment, and heavy machinery, later moving into construction and engineering project management. He briefly taught at KAIST and, as a visiting faculty, also at Stanford University and MIT. After returning back to the industry, he took management responsibilities as CEO of Daewoo Automotive Components and Daewoo Electronics. Both were mass manufacturing and mass global marketing companies. In 1998, he served the Kim Dae Jung government as Minister of Information and Telecommunication, taking government initiatives in the broadband deployment in Korea. Since then, he has been teaching MBA courses at KAIST.

Dr. Bae published 15 papers in various technical journals, and wrote a book titled Back to the Basic. He received the National Award in Science and Technology from the Korean government, the Beat Management Award from the Korean Productivity Association, and the Legion de Honuer from France.

Dr. Daniel Moonkee Min
President, iCash Inc.

Daniel Moonkee Min is the president of iCash, Inc. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Before he started a business, he was a researcher at National Institute of Science and Technology in Maryland. His company has been developing banking applications using smart card technology. Recent applications include the membership/payment smart card for a Telecom company, smart card ticket system for Korea Trail Express, multicard system for a Mobile Telecom company. iCash has developed a patented IPS (Integrated Payment System) in which diverse payment components are integrated to support credit card, e-cash, and escrow system. IPS has been delivered to financial institutions such as Woori Bank and Korea Post Office. He is also in charge of Sungwoo Electronics which provides repeaters and engineering services to mobile telecom companies. Using his experiences in mobile and smart card industry, he plans to offer computer education services globally including China, India, USA, and Japan.

Meredith Woo-Cumings
Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Michigan

Meredith Woo-Cumings is Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her teaching and research interests include international political economy, economic development, East Asian politics, and U.S.-East Asian relations.

She is currently finishing a manuscript, entitled Three Worlds of East Asian Capitalism, and expects to see her latest edited book, Neoliberalism and Reform in East Asia, in press in 2002. The latter is a project sponsored by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and the Rockefeller Foundation, and will be published by Cornell University Press.

Professor Woo-Cumings was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, and attended an international high school in Tokyo, Japan. She came to the United States in 1976, and graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College, majoring in English Literature and History (1980). She has received an M.A. in International Affairs (1982), and Latin American Studies (1984), and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University (1988). Her dissertation was awarded the University's highest distinction. She is fluent in English, Korean, and Japanese, and has some command of Spanish and Portuguese.

Before joining the University of Michigan in 2001, she taught at Northwestern University (1989-2000), as well as Colgate University and Columbia University.