World’s leading economists to gather in Seoul in 2025

Korea has been chosen to be the host of the 2025 congress event, according to the American Economic Association Annual Meeting on Sunday, which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. [Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

Korea will host one of the world’s largest events for economists as the country has been chosen to hold the 2025 Econometric Society World Congress in August that year by the Econometric Society.

Korea has been chosen to be the host of the 2025 congress event, according to the American Economic Association Annual Meeting on Sunday, which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. The congress takes place every five years and as the 2020 event hosted in Montreal, Canada took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the first meeting to take place in-person in 10 years.

All section subjects and presenters for the congress are decided under the lead of the Econometric Society. Presenters and panels are also decided following strict selection processes and most of them are eminent scholars, often including Nobel laureates.

The congress is known for a forum where eminent economists from around the world release their latest, topnotch theses there.

“Usually the American Economic Association gatherings have six to ten thousand attendees, but far more economists will attend the ESWC, which gathers economists from all around the world,” says Professor Yoosoon Chang, president of the Korea-America Economic Association. She sees the ESWC as “a great opportunity for Korea to show off its competence in the area of economic academia, and also a celebratory event for Korean economists.”

President Yoon Suk-yeol himself made extra efforts to ensure that Korea host the event, sending out pledges of support in English and mentioning his father. [Source : The Korean Economic Association]

The government, including the Presidential Office, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Education, have also pledged their support for the congress, in the hopes of successfully hosting the event. A list of corporations, including Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung C & T Corp, Hyundai Motor Co., Korean Air Lines Co., SK Inc., Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers and Amorepacific Corp., as well as both the Korea Tourism Organization and the Seoul Tourism Organization, have also promised sponsorship.

President Yoon Suk-yeol himself made extra efforts to ensure that Korea host the event, sending out pledges of support in English and mentioning his father, who has dedicated his entire life to econometrics and to fostering young Korean economists. Praising the contributions made by Korean scholars to Korean economic growth, President Yoon said that he expects the event to be a chance to gain a broader view of various economic issues in both advanced and developing economies.

President Yoon’s father is Emeritus Professor Yoon Ki-jung at Yonsei University. He formerly taught statistics and mathematical statistics at Hanyang University and Yonsei University. Yoon senior was former president of the Korean Statistical Society and the Korean Economic Association.