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Park Sung-hyeuck appointed as new president of Korea Tourism Organization

Published: 31 Dec. 2025, 17:35 Updated: 31 Dec. 2025, 17:59

Park Sung-hyeuck, a former executive vice president at Cheil Worldwide, appointed as the 27th president of the Korea Tourism Organization [KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

Park Sung-hyeuck, former executive vice president at Cheil Worldwide, was appointed as the new and 27th president of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Wednesday.

Park graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies with a degree in journalism and broadcasting and earned a master’s degree in media studies from Chung-Ang University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He previously served as head of global operations at Cheil Worldwide, overseeing both Europe and North America, and was executive vice president of the company until 2023. He currently works as an adviser at the firm.

“President Park brings global marketing expertise and organizational leadership, and we expect him to play a key role in reshaping the K-tourism paradigm and reaching the goal of 30 million inbound tourists earlier than planned,” said Minister Chae Hwi-young in a statement.

Park’s appointment came as a surprise to the tourism sector, with industry officials noting that he was not a name previously floated for the position. He has no known ties to the Lee Jae Myung administration and did not serve in the Democratic Party’s presidential campaign or as an advisor on tourism policy. He is known solely as an expert in advertising and marketing.

The position of KTO president had remained vacant for nearly two years — the longest leadership vacuum in the agency’s history. Kim Jang-sil, the previous president, stepped down on Jan. 12, 2024, to run for office in the general election. Since then, the seat had remained unfilled for 23 months and 18 days.

In the second half of 2024, Kang Hoon, a former presidential secretary widely seen as aligned with former first lady Kim Keon Hee, was reportedly nominated for the role but withdrew amid public backlash. In March 2025, then-acting President Han Duck-soo attempted to appoint former People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yong-ho, but the move fell through following pushback from the KTO labor union and broader tourism industry, who denounced the nomination as a last-minute political plant.

Operating without a chief for nearly two years, the KTO received the lowest possible rating — an E, or “very poor” — in the government’s 2025 public institution performance review and came in last among 87 public organizations nationwide.

Although his letter of appointment has yet to be issued, Park officially began his duties Wednesday. The term for KTO president is three years.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SON MIN-HO [[email protected]]