ID :
78265
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 09:06
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/78265
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Chung Un-chan, baseball-loving scholar reputed for balanced leadership
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister-nominee Chung Un-chan, a life-long scholar and former head of one of South Korea's most prestigious universities, stepped into politics just two years ago, despite having been courted by political circles for many years.
Born in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, Chung, 62, graduated from Seoul
National University, which he later would come back to as its chief. He earned
his doctorate in economics from Princeton University and began his teaching
career as an assistant professor at Columbia University in the United States in
1976. He returned to SNU two years later and stayed for nearly 30 years.
Chung's name began to circulate in political circles a decade ago, after drawing
attention for his prolific writing and critiques of the government's economic
policies.
He was elected the chief of SNU in a direct vote by the professors in 2002. Until
he stepped down in 2006, he sometimes stood at odds with the government,
insisting on deregulation of university management.
He was courted by both the ruling and opposition bloc ahead of the 2006 local
elections. Reports back then said President Lee Myung-bak, the Seoul mayor at the
time, personally tried to pursuade him to run to succeed him.
Chung appeared to have changed his mind about politics when after leaving the
university, he raised his public profile with nationwide speaking tours. But his
lack of political experience outweighed his popularity as an educator, capping
his approval ratings in the low single-digits, and he declared that he would not
run for president.
His withdrawal, however, garnered widespread appeal and burnished his reputation
as a champion of calm, balanced leadership.
"Chung is expected to exercise a comprehensive leadership of tolerance and
harmony as he will work to carry out various government policies through his vast
network of global human resources and with his unique people-friendly
personality," the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
Chung is also well known as a baseball fanatic, who often said he wants to lead
the Korean baseball governing body when he quits as head of SNU.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
Born in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, Chung, 62, graduated from Seoul
National University, which he later would come back to as its chief. He earned
his doctorate in economics from Princeton University and began his teaching
career as an assistant professor at Columbia University in the United States in
1976. He returned to SNU two years later and stayed for nearly 30 years.
Chung's name began to circulate in political circles a decade ago, after drawing
attention for his prolific writing and critiques of the government's economic
policies.
He was elected the chief of SNU in a direct vote by the professors in 2002. Until
he stepped down in 2006, he sometimes stood at odds with the government,
insisting on deregulation of university management.
He was courted by both the ruling and opposition bloc ahead of the 2006 local
elections. Reports back then said President Lee Myung-bak, the Seoul mayor at the
time, personally tried to pursuade him to run to succeed him.
Chung appeared to have changed his mind about politics when after leaving the
university, he raised his public profile with nationwide speaking tours. But his
lack of political experience outweighed his popularity as an educator, capping
his approval ratings in the low single-digits, and he declared that he would not
run for president.
His withdrawal, however, garnered widespread appeal and burnished his reputation
as a champion of calm, balanced leadership.
"Chung is expected to exercise a comprehensive leadership of tolerance and
harmony as he will work to carry out various government policies through his vast
network of global human resources and with his unique people-friendly
personality," the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
Chung is also well known as a baseball fanatic, who often said he wants to lead
the Korean baseball governing body when he quits as head of SNU.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
