Ju-Ho Lee

Professor Ju-Ho Lee served as Minister of Education, Science, and Technology of the Republic of South Korea (2010-2013). Before joining the ministry as Vice Minister in 2009, he was Senior Secretary to the President for Education, Science, and Culture. He has been noted for his education reform endeavors and active lawmaking as a member of the National Assembly (2004-2008). His policy entrepreneurship began when he worked as a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and as a professor at the KDI School for Public Policy and Management. He has written many articles and several books including Human Capital and Development: Lessons and Insights from Korea’s Transformation (2018) and Positive Changes: The Education, Science & Technology Policies of Korea (2012).

He received his BA and MA degrees from Seoul National University and his PhD in Economics from Cornell University in 1990. After his nine-year service in the Korean parliament and government, he returned to academia in 2013 as a professor at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management. Utilizing his experience as a high-ranking public servant, he actively resumed his research on human capital and innovation policies, covering a wide range of issues including 21st century skills, changes in the education workforce, strategies for education reforms, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, innovation ecosystems, and government reforms. In addition to serving as an Education Commissioner, he is also actively working for the international community as a Commissioner of 3ie and as Chair of the Education Workforce Initiative.