Dr. Kwak is Professor of international development at the Graduate School of Pan-Pacific International Studies and the Director of the Institute of International Studies of Kyung Hee University. His research interests include trans-Pacific economic relations, political economy of Latin America, multilateral development assistance, innovation and development, and private sector development (PSD). He has also been active in advising Korean government agencies and private enterprises including the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the LG Group and SK Corp. Also, he has been actively engaged in leading international organizations. From 2007-2009, Prof. Kwak worked in the Integration and Trade Sector of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Washington DC. He has been involved in many consulting and advisory projects for the Asian Development Bank, IDB, UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). He holds a B.A. in Hispanic studies from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool.