(Ret.) Colonel Imsuk Yang, Ph.D Research Fellow, Korea Environment Institute, Seoul; Senior Advisor, Base Relocation Project for US Military, Korea

Wharton Speaker >> Biography

Dr. Imsuk Yang serves as a visiting research fellow in the Korea Environment Institute, in Seoul, Korea.  He also works for the Ministry of National Defense, as a Senior Advisor for the Base Relocation project for U.S. military in Korea.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in military history from the Korea Military Academy, a Bachelor’s in Science and a Master’s of Science from Seoul National University, and a Ph. D. in Resource Management and Environmental Toxicology from Michigan State University. 

He began his military career as commander of the 310th Artillery Company of the 38th Division and then served as an instructor at the Korea Military Academy’s Department of Environment.  After receiving his Ph.D., Colonel Yang became the Director General/Executive Officer at the 31st Army Chemical Research Laboratory.  He then became the Director of the Office of Environment at the Ministry of National Defense, where he established himself as the pioneer of environmental protection and policy within the Korean Military.  He has also worked for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).  The recipient of numerous honors, he has received the National Meritorious Medal from the late President Kim Daejung.