J.R. Kim

J.R. Kim is the founder and president of the Korea Council for Peace and Cooperation.

He retired as a director general of the South Korean Ministry of Unification (MOU) in 2022.

During his twenty-six-year career in the MOU, J.R. held various other positions, including serving as director of international cooperation, public relations, and inter-Korean socio-cultural dialogue. His last assignment was as a senior director of planning and research at the North Korean Human Rights Record Center.

As one of the ministry's most prominent representatives in the international arena, he has participated in numerous meetings, conferences, and seminars, both in Korea and abroad.

In 2015, the former director general published a book on the Northern Ireland peace process, which was the first work in the Korean language to explore the ongoing Irish peace process and its implications for Korean unification.

J.R. holds a B.S. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a master's degree in international political economy from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Cambridge.