Scholar refuses offer for gov¡¯t post

At a time when people are vying for positions of minister, Professor Chung Un-Chan declined the offer to become the president`s chief economic secretary. He is economics professor of the state-run Seoul National University.

"Presidential aides sounded my opinion about whether I am interested in being chief economic secretary,¡± Chung said in an interview with Dong-A Ilbo. ¡°But I told them I am not qualified for the position due to the lack of experience at a critical time to complete reforms."

He expressed that he would concentrate on lectures and research activities as a scholar.

Chung stressed that the chief economic secretary is required to coordinate everything about economic matters, so he or she must have abundant knowledge and rich experience.

When asked to recommend someone for deputy prime minister, he mentioned former Health and Welfare Minister Kim Jong-In.

Saying that it is important to pursue the pending economic issues such as financial restructuring and the question of Hyundai Group in a steadfast manner, Chung contended that Kim is the most suitable person to handle those matters.

Chung refused the nomination as governor of the Bank of Korea in 1998.

As the best pupil of Cho Soon, former deputy premier, Chung graduated from the prestigious Kyunggi High School and Seoul National University, majoring in economics. He worked for the Bank of Korea for a while and earned his doctorate degree at Princeton University. After that, he taught at Columbia University and moved to Seoul National University in 1978.

He served as chairman of the Finance Society of Korea. Since March, Chung has been as chairman of the Financial Development Commission at the Ministry of Finance and Economy.