South Korean economist and distinguished academic specializing in the economics of innovation and catch-up by latecomer economies. He is a Distinguished Professor at the School of Economics, Chung-Ang University (since 2025) and Distinguished Emeritus Professor at Seoul National University. He founded and directs the Center for Economic Catch-up and has over three decades of experience in research and policy work on innovation and economic development.

He previously served as Vice-Chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council for the President of Korea, President of the International Schumpeter Society (2016–2018), and a member of the UN Committee for Development Policy (2013–2019) and the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley (1989). He received the 2014 Schumpeter Prize for his book Schumpeterian Analysis of Economic Catch-up and the 2019 Kapp Prize from EAEPE. He is Editor of Research Policy and Associate Editor of Industrial and Corporate Change, and the author of books including The Art of Economic Catch-up (2019), China’s Technological Leapfrogging and Economic Catch-up (2021), and Innovation-Development Detours for Latecomers (2024).