Professor Im Jae-man of Sejong University has been appointed president of the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS), filling a vacancy that lasted nearly a year.
The National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRC) under the prime minister's office said it appointed Sejong University Professor Im Jae-man as the 19th president of the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) at a board meeting held on the 30th. Im's official term runs for three years from July 1 to June 30, 2029.
Born in 1964, Im graduated from Daejeon Daesung High School and Yonsei University's business administration department. He later earned a master's degree and a doctorate in business administration from the same graduate school.
Im, who is also a certified appraiser, has served as civilian chair of the reform committee at the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), senior researcher at the Korea Real Estate Research Institute, president of the Korea Real Estate Analysis Association, and Commissioner on Gyeonggi Province's basic housing policy advisory committee. During Lee Jae-myung's 2022 presidential campaign, he was part of the think tank "Policies that change the world 2022 (Sebajeong)" and advised on public housing policy.
Meanwhile, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) is a government grants research institute that studies national land policy, urban planning, dwellings, transportation, and regional development. It provides basic data during the government's real estate policy and national land planning processes and has a direct and indirect impact on policy direction.
Shim Kyo-eon, a Konkuk University professor who previously led the organization, took office in Aug. 2023 and was initially set to serve until Aug. this year. However, he stepped down earlier than planned in July last year. As a result, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) has been operating with the top post vacant for nearly a year.