Oh Hyunjoo Named New KOICA President; Former Third Deputy Director of National Security Office

Oh Hyun-joo, former Third Deputy Director of the National Security Office, has been named as the next president of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). She is 58 and passed the 28th Foreign Service Examination.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on November 13 that Oh is scheduled to be appointed KOICA's 15th president on November 16.

The new president graduated from Korea University's Department of Western Literature and earned a master's degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the predecessor of the current Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1994. She has served as director-general for development cooperation, deputy ambassador to the United Nations, and ambassador to the Holy See, among other posts. Shortly after the Lee Jae-myung administration took office last year, she was appointed third deputy director of the National Security Office at the Presidential Office.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained the appointment, saying, "With more than 30 years of experience in diplomacy and development cooperation, she is expected to actively realize KOICA's vision of becoming 'a leading global development cooperation agency that pursues universal values and shared national interests,' while establishing and advancing KOICA's role as an integrated platform for the Republic of Korea's grant aid."

The KOICA president's term is three years and may be renewed for one-year periods after it expires. The president is selected through procedures including an open recruitment process and a review by the Executive Recommendation Committee.

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