The Most Famous
ECONOMISTS from South Korea
This page contains a list of the greatest South Korean Economists. The pantheon dataset contains 414 Economists, 2 of which were born in South Korea. This makes South Korea the birth place of the 30th most number of Economists behind Argentina, and Romania.
Top 2
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary South Korean Economists of all time. This list of famous South Korean Economists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Ha-Joon Chang (b. 1963)
With an HPI of 51.33, Ha-Joon Chang is the most famous South Korean Economist. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages on wikipedia.
Ha-Joon Chang (; Korean: 장하준; born 7 October 1963) is a South Korean economist and academic. Chang specialises in institutional economics and development, and lectured in economics at the University of Cambridge from 1990–2021 before becoming professor of economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 2022. Chang is the author of several bestselling books on economics and development policy, most notably Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (2002). In 2013, Prospect magazine ranked Chang as one of the top 20 World Thinkers. Chang has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, as well as to Oxfam and various United Nations agencies. He is also a fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. In addition, Chang serves on the advisory board of Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP).
2. Lee Ju-ho (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 48.10, Lee Ju-ho is the 2nd most famous South Korean Economist. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Lee Ju-ho (Korean: 이주호; born 17 February 1961) is a South Korean economist who served as the acting president of South Korea from May to June 2025 and acting prime minister of South Korea from May to July 2025. He has also served as the deputy prime minister and education minister since 2022. He is a professor at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management. From 1 May 2025 to 4 June 2025, after the impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol, resignation of prime minister Han Duck-soo, and subsequent resignation of minister of economy Choi Sang-mok, Lee was the acting President of South Korea, acting Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Education concurrently.
People
Pantheon has 2 people classified as South Korean economists born between 1961 and 1963. Of these 2, 2 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living South Korean economists include Ha-Joon Chang, and Lee Ju-ho. As of April 2024, 2 new South Korean economists have been added to Pantheon including Ha-Joon Chang, and Lee Ju-ho.
