Kim Hyun-jong
Kim Hyun-jong is a former Director General of Free Trade Negotiations under Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in.
Early life
He holds three degrees from Columbia University: B.A. and M.A. in Political Science and a J.D. from Columbia Law School in New York. He also graduated from Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Massachusetts in 1977.Career
Minister for Trade during Roh administration
From May 2003, the very beginning of the Roh administration, as the deputy minister for trade and later the minister for trade, he was one of the most central figures in Roh administration's trade policy for more than 4 years. In particular, he initiated numerous free trade agreement plans or talks with Canada, India, Mexico, MERCOSUR, GCC, Singapore, EFTA, ASEAN, and United States. The FTAs with Singapore, EFTA, ASEAN, and USA had been signed before he moved to UN. These 4 blocks and Chile compose 25.78% of all South Korean trade. He was then appointed as the ambassador to the UN, where he spent around 8 months.Minister for Trade during Moon administration
Under President Moon, Kim served as his first Trade Minister. He led the re-negotiation of the KORUS FTA. In 2019 he was reshuffled to Office of National Security as its Deputy Director responsible for coordinating foreign and inter-korean policies. In 2021 he was again reshuffled to President Moon's Special Advisor on foreign policy.In June 2025, it was reported that Kim was under consideration to serve in South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's cabinet.
He also took various roles representing South Korean government at the WTO, UN and APEC.Moreover, he previously worked for Milbank LLP, Skadden, and Samsung Electronics.
He taught international trade at South Korean universities such as Hongik University before working at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies after working as a minister for trade.
Honors
- Order of Service Merit by the government of South Korea