Oh Hyun-joo named new KOICA president

Oh Hyun-joo, former third deputy chief of the National Security Office, has been tapped as the new president of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs agency responsible for South Korea's overseas grant aid.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that Oh will be officially appointed KOICA president on Monday.

Oh is a career diplomat who graduated from Korea University with a degree in Western literature and joined the Foreign Ministry after passing the 28th foreign service examination. She has built broad expertise in development cooperation and multilateral diplomacy, having served as director-general for development cooperation and deputy permanent representative to the UN, among other posts.

She was appointed South Korea's first female ambassador to the Holy See in January 2023, and was later tapped as third deputy chief of the National Security Office in June last year, overseeing economic security and multilateral diplomatic affairs.

The Foreign Ministry said it expects Oh to "actively realize KOICA's vision as a leading global development cooperation agency that pursues universal values and mutually beneficial national interests," while establishing and advancing KOICA's role as South Korea's unified platform for grant aid.

The KOICA president serves a three-year term, selected through an open recruitment process and review by an executive recommendation committee, and may be reappointed on a year-by-year basis after the initial term expires.