Sang-Hyup Kim became Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) on January 1, 2025, returning to the organization he helped establish in 2012. His 40-year career spans media, academia, and policymaking, dedicated to sustainable development and climate action.

He previously co-chaired Korea’s Presidential Commission on 2050 Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth and has advised KAIST, where he also serves as Visiting Professor. He was President of the Jeju Research Institute, Director of KAIST’s Center for Sustainable Development, and founder of the Coalition for Our Common Future, alongside numerous national and regional leadership roles.

2024: Ambassador for Polar Affairs

2021: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the State of Kuwait

2020: Director-General for International Organizations, MOFA

2018: Deputy Director-General for International Organizations, MOFA

2014: Minister-Counsellor, Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, U. S. A

2013: Director for Planning and Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

2012: Director, Middle East Division II, African and Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau, MOFAT

2011: Director, Middle East Division I, African and Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau, MOFAT

2009: Counsellor, Korean Embassy in the United States of America

2008: Director, Human Resources Management Division, Office of Planning and Management, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade ( MOFAT)

2004: First Secretary, Korean Embassy in the Islamic Republic of Iran

2002: Consul, Korean Consulate General in Seattle, WA, U. S. A.

1993: Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

1993: Passed High Diplomatic Service Examination

Jyri Järviaho has arrived in the Republic of Korea on 1st of September 2024.

Prior to his assignment in the Republic of Korea he served as Ambassador of Finland to Thailand and Cambodia.

Ambassador Järviaho has previously worked as Deputy Director General for Human Resources and as Director of the Personnel Unit at the Foreign Ministry. His career in the Diplomatic Service includes posts in the Embassies of Finland in Riga and Belgrade, where he served as Deputy Head of Mission, and in the Permanent Mission of Finland in Geneva, where his tasks were related to disarmament and arms control.

Ambassador Järviaho joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1999. Before his career in the Diplomatic Service, he worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London.

Ambassador Järviaho was born in 1965 in Vimpeli, Finland. He studied at the University of Joensuu and holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences (Economics). He has also studied Political Science at Newcastle in the UK and international relations in Denver, Colorado in the USA. He currently holds the military rank of Staff Sergeant.

Ambassador Järviaho is, in addition to the native Finnish, fluent in English but speaks also Swedish, French and Serbian. He likes sports, music and outdoor activities. He is married to Elina Multanen and they have one son and two grandchildren.

Is a politician and policy maker from the Norwegian Labor Party. He has served as Mayor of Tromsø since October 16, 2019.  

Jon-Arve Røyset has worked as a project manager for several national and international projects under the auspices of the Norwegian Coastal Administration since 2003. In the last couple of years, he has been central to the work of preparing a new emergency response analysis for Norwegian sea areas and in the work on the Arctic Council’s analyses of ship traffic. The work he has led in developing the analysis system AISyRISK is internationally recognized. He has previously been central to the work on management plans for Norwegian sea areas and in the national transport plan. He is an expert member of the Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment Working Group (PAME).

Director of the Port Industry Research Division, Korean Maritime Institute Dr. Eunwoo Kim is Director of the Port Industry Research Division at the Korea Maritime Institute(KMI) and Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Technology Management, Pukyong National University. She has about 20 years of research experience in shipping, ports, and international logistics, and her current research focuses on port policies.

She got her Ph.D. in Business from Sogang University, was a Visiting Scholar at Cass Business School in London (2017–2018) and served as General Representative of the China Research Center at KMI (2020–2023).

Ingvild Solvang is the Deputy Director and Head of the Climate Action and Inclusive Development (CAID) Unit in the Investment and Policy Solutions Division (IPSD) in GGGI.

She has nearly 20 years experience working in international development and humanitarian affairs. Based in Southeast Asia for nearly two decades, she has responded to emergencies, while also managing development programs for various organizations worldwide, always with a focus on poverty reduction, gender equality and social inclusion. Prior to joining GGGI’s HQ in Seoul, Ingvild was the Global Lead for Entrepreneurship with CARE’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Team. With her partner, she has also supported the management of ViaVia Jogja, a sustainable tourism social enterprise in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Ingvild has a postgraduate degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Oslo and an MFA in Creative Writing from City University of Hong Kong. She has also studied Gender at SUNY Buffalo and Forced Migration at the University of Oxford.

Professor, Judicial Research and Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea Dr. Youngmin Seo (J.S.D., University of California at Berkeley School of Law) is a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea. His research explores the intersection of international law, maritime governance, and global power dynamics, with a particular focus on the law of the sea, the Polar Regions, and the South China Sea. Before joining the judiciary, Dr. Seo served nearly two decades as a Korean diplomat specializing in international law and environmental diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His overseas postings include Los Angeles, USA, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. He represented Korea in major international negotiations and forums, including the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, the Arctic Council, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and meetings of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Dr. Seo’s scholarship addresses issues of ocean governance, sustainable development, and maritime security, with publications in leading journals such as the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, the Michigan Journal of International Law, the Fordham International Law Journal, and the Emory International Law Review, among others.

Nizhar Marizi is the Director of Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas). He has extensive experience working and collaborating with national and local government institutions, international development agencies, and non-governmental organizations. He is specializing in environmental and energy issues and uses his expertise to promote green growth and renewable energy.

He was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Kitakyushu for studies in Regional Social Systems after graduating with an M.Sc. in Environmental Science from the University of Indonesia and a B.Eng in Urban and Regional Planning from the Institute of Technology Bandung.

Advisor, Executive Directors Office, Green Climate Fund