President, Kyungnam University;
Former Minister of Unification

Dr. Jae Kyu Park is the President of Kyungnam University. He served as the 26th Minister of Unification and as chairman of the National Security Council (NSC) of the Republic of Korea. Park played an instrumental role in the first inter-Korean summit of June 2000. President Park has served as the chairman of the Korean University Presidents Association (2001–2004), ISANG YUN Peace Foundation (2005–2009), and Northeast Asian Forum of University Presidents (2003–2011), among other associations. He also served as President of the University of North Korean Studies (2005–2009). He currently serves as a presidential advisor on Korean unification affairs and as a member of the Presidential Committee on Social Cohesion. Park earned a Ph.D. in political science from Kyung-Hee University, Korea. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the prestigious Special Prize of the Jury (for Conflict Prevention) from the Chirac Foundation of France (2009). Among his many publications are North Korea’s Foreign Policy (1977), North Korea’s Military Policy (1983), Politics of North Korea (1984), New Diplomacy of North Korea and Its Survival Strategy (1997), A Guide to Understanding North Korea (ed., Korean, 1997), New Readings of North Korea (ed., Korean, 2004), and North Korea’s Dilemma and Future (ed., Korean, 2011).