Dr. Kyung-wha Kang is an accomplished diplomat who served as South Korea’s 38th Minister of Foreign Affairs (2017 to 2021). She is the first woman appointed to this post in the nation’s history, endeavoring to garner global support for South Korea’s initiative to engage with North Korea toward lasting peace and complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. She previously held key leadership roles at the United Nations, including as Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Senior Advisor on Policy to Secretary-General António Guterres.

Before joining the United Nations, Dr. Kang held various positions in South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, specializing in multilateral affairs and intergovernmental organizations. Among others, she served as Minister at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, during which she chaired the 48th and 49th sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Additionally, she spearheaded efforts to highlight women with disabilities in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Dr. Kang graduated from Yonsei University in Korea with a BA in political science and diplomacy and holds an MA and PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her doctorate research as in the field of international and intercultural communication. Dr. Kang served as Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Ewha Womans University and is Distinguished Professor at the Institute for Global Engagement & Empowerment at Yonsei University.