We are delighted to announce that the spring term 2022 Ragnar Nurkse visiting professor will be Pan Suk Kim, an eminent Korean scholar, international PA functionary and the former South Korean minister of PA.
Currently a commission member of the International Civil Service Commission of the United Nations (ICSC) and an elected lifetime international fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) in Washington, DC, Dr. Pan Suk Kim has had an excellent career in both academia and the public sector. He was the Dean of the College of Government and Business at Yonsei University, and he is currently a Professor Emeritus of Public Administration at Yonsei University in South Korea. He was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Management of the Republic of Korea in 2017~2018 and Senior Secretary to the President for Personnel Policy in the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea[9] in 2004~2005. He has also served as a member of the Administrative Reform Committee (ARC) and several Policy Advisory Committees in the Korean central government.
He has also led a number of professional associations including the Korean Society for Public Personnel Administration (KOSPPA) as well as regional and international associations including the Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA) and the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) in Brussels. He was a member and a Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (UNCEPA) in New York for two terms (2006-2009 and 2010-2013). He is currently the International Director of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).
“We are very honored that Prof. Pan has agreed to be the Ragnar Nurkse Visiting Professor at TalTech. The mission of the Ragnar Nurkse Visiting Professorship is to broaden our debate on governance and innovation beyond the dominant Western narratives. Prof. Pan’s impressive professional and academic experience in Korea and globally will offer us great insights and I am sure our classes and seminars will be filled with engaging and rewarding debate,” said Assoc. Prof. Erkki Karo, director of the Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance.
Professor Pan will co-teach the Non-Western Public Administration with Professor Wolfgang Drechsler during Spring Term and have a block on Human Resource Management in Korean Government (including recruitment, selection, and diversity) as well as interact with students, and consult and discuss with colleagues.
He will also give a public lecture on The Politics of Presidential Appointments: The South Korean Experience. More information about the public lecture will be available on the Department's website.