World Bank’s China program head to lead Korea office

The World Bank Group named Soh Hoon-sahib on Thursday as the new head of its Korea office in Songdo, Incheon.

For the past two years, Soh has been the lead on economic policies in China, Mongolia and Korea at the World Bank’s Beijing office.

A Korean national, Soh joined the World Bank in 2000 after receiving a doctorate in economics from Stanford University and a stint in the private sector doing corporate research and management consulting.

Soh will be succeeding Joyce Msuya in the Korea office.

“In my nearly two decades of working in the World Bank, I have always felt that more could be done to leverage Korea’s development experience for the benefit of the global community,” Soh said. “Thanks to the support of the Korean government, the WBG Korea office is expanding, and I will work hard to continue to build and strengthen the partnership with the Korean government and public and private stakeholders in Korea.”

The World Bank Group includes five international organizations that lend money to developing countries and arbitrate between governments and investors.

By Lee Ho-jeong