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Busan Metropolitan City Appoints Kim Young-jae, Emeritus Professor at Pusan National University, as President of the Busan Development Institute

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced the appointment of Kim Young-jae, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Pusan National University, as the 14th President of the Busan Development Institute.

The appointment ceremony was scheduled to take place today (December 1) at 9 a.m. in the Protocol Office on the 7th floor of City Hall.

Beginning on the date of the appointment ceremony, the new President, Kim Young-jae, will assume leadership of the Busan Development Institute—Busan’s “core think tank”—for a three-year term, directing policy research and the formulation of future strategies for the city.

Kim Young-jae began his academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Pusan National University and accumulated more than 20 years of academic experience at the university, building a wide-ranging research portfolio in the field of economics and trade.

Since August 2025, he has continued teaching and research as an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Economics at Pusan National University.

In addition, he has gained broad experience spanning academia, the public sector, and the private sector by serving as a Non-standing Director of the Busan Economic Promotion Agency and an Outside Director of BNK Busan Bank.

Based on this extensive experience, he has been evaluated as a highly qualified leader to guide the Busan Development Institute. He also received a “qualified” result at the personnel hearing of the Busan Metropolitan Council held on November 24.

Kim stated that, with internationally recognized research expertise and a global cooperation network, he is committed to laying an intellectual foundation for Busan to become a global maritime hub city and to dedicating his efforts to advancing the institute into a trusted policy research organization for the citizens of Busan.

Mayor Park expressed his expectations, noting that in an era of rapid change driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, innovative policy research and development are essential to advancing Busan’s sustainable growth and improving citizens’ quality of life. He further emphasized that “a well-prepared research report has the power to shape the future of Busan and the happiness of our citizens,” urging the new President to spare no effort in formulating mid- to long-term city strategies and addressing major issues such as demographic and industrial structural transitions.