Dear Distinguished Members of The Association of Korean Economic Studies,
President
Seo Eunsook
Dear Distinguished Members of The Association of Korean Economic Studies,
It is a great honor to address you today as the 24th President of The Association of Korean Economic Studies. I accept this responsibility with deep gratitude and a strong sense of duty.
First, I would like to express my sincere respect to the former presidents and all the distinguished members whose dedication has shaped this Association into a leading community of economic scholarship in Korea.
The Korean economy stands at a moment of profound transformation. Persistent exchange rate pressures, evolving monetary policy challenges, and structural imbalances between exports and domestic demand are testing the resilience of our economic system.
At the same time, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and the expansion of the digital financial economy are reshaping the foundations of production, labor, and global competition. These developments call for fresh analytical perspectives and deeper scholarly engagement.
In such times, the role of economic scholarship becomes ever more important. Our Association must continue to serve as a forum for rigorous research, open dialogue, and thoughtful policy discussion.
During my term, I hope to advance our Association in three directions:
to deepen research on structural economic change,
to strengthen constructive engagement with policy debates,
and to support the next generation of scholars who will shape the future of our discipline.
Dear colleagues,
As John Maynard Keynes once observed, “The difficulty lies not in new ideas, but in escaping from old ones.” In that spirit, let us continue to approach the challenges ahead with intellectual openness and scholarly rigor.
I look forward to working together with all of you to further strengthen The Association of Korean Economic Studies and to contribute to a deeper understanding of the Korean economy.
Thank you.
March 5, 2026
Seo Eunsook, 24th President
The Association of Korean Economic Studies