Park Jung-sung named as South Korea's new trade minister

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- Park Jung-sung, tapped as the country's new trade minister Friday, is a seasoned trade official with extensive experience in trade and related policy areas.

Park, 54, studied economics at Seoul National University and earned a law degree from Nova Southeastern University in the United States.

He began his civil service career after passing the national exam in 1996 and has since held several key posts in economic and trade policy.

He served as a co-coordinator of the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement negotiations and as the lead working-level negotiator for a task force on U.S. tariff negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

Park was named vice trade minister in November last year, overseeing trade and investment negotiations particularly with Washington.

He is expected to be well positioned to maintain continuity in negotiations amid mounting trade issues, including efforts to promote investment projects in the United States.