The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced April 6 that Dr. Kim In-chul was inaugurated as the new Foreign Investment Ombudsman.

Kim will identify the difficulties faced by foreign-invested companies in Korea and work to resolve their grievances during his three-year term, which will end in April, 2018.

Dr. Kim studied economics at Sungkyunkwan University and received a PhD in international economics from the University of Chicago. He was formerly a researcher at the Korea Development Institute, an advisor to the Minister of Strategy and Finance, president of the Incheon Development Institute, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University and president of the Korean Economic Association.

Kim’s designation as the new Foreign Investment Ombudsman was approved by the Foreign Investment Committee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy on March 27. The position has been vacant since former Ombudsman Dr. Ahn Choong Yong left the post to chair the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership in August, 2014.

The appointment ceremony will be held on April 7.