“Honorary Doctor of International Development” for contributing to overcome poverty in developing countries and develop public health and medical care around the world

Congratulatory message from President YOON Seok-yeol, “I hope that the education and research will be conducted in the field of international development with YU that has academically studied Korea’s experiences in development”

Former UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon and National Assembly member PARK Jin delivered congratulatory messages.

National leaders received degrees from YU one after another following UN WFP Secretary-General and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister.

“Cultivating talents to contribute in the prosperity of human society”… to meet YU’s educational goals and ideal talents

[July 24, 2023]

<YU conferred an honorary doctorate in international development studies on KIM Yong, Former President of World Bank>

(From left, Former President KIM Yong of World Bank and President CHOI Oe-chool of YU)

YU (President CHOI Oe-chool) conferred an honorary doctorate in international development studies on Former President KIM Yong of World Bank (63). For his contribution in common prosperity of human society by overcoming poverty in developing countries and by developing world public health and medicine.YU is the first case that Former President KIM Yong received an honorary doctorate from a country other than USA.

Former President KIM Yong served as the 12th President of World Bank.He led World Bank Group for 6 years and 7 months, from July 2012 to February 2019, and took the lead in ending global poverty, including development of developing countries and improvement of healthcare environment. World Bank was established in 1945 with the goal of eradicating global poverty and developing economies. It is one of the three major international economic organizations such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO).

 Former President KIM Yong attended the conferment ceremony for an honorary doctorate on the 24th and said, “I hope that today’s conferment ceremony will be the first step towards achieving the goal of eradicating global poverty and achieving prosperity together with YU. I hope to do more for human society with YU in the future.”

 After conferring the honorary doctorate, Former President KIM Yong gave a special lecture to foreign students and faculty members at YU Park Chung-hee Graduate School of Saemaul on the subject of “Faith in Things Unseen.” In his special lecture, Former President KIM Yong gently told about his childhood, his growth process, and his 40-year global health activities. He shared his experiences in a wide range of global health activities, such as the process of promoting health project in Haiti and Peru Health Project in "Partners In Health” established by him, HIV eradication activities in Africa, and mental health problems in modern society, shared learned lessons, and got a lot of sympathy.

<Special Lecture by Former President KIM Yong>

 Especially, President YOON Seok-yeol sent a congratulatory message to Former President KIM Yong for the honorary doctorate conferment ceremony. President YOON Seok-yeol said in a congratulatory message read by Chairman HAN Jae-sook of Yeongnam School Corporation, “I congratulate Former President KIM Yong, who devoted himself in development of developing countries and overcoming global poverty as the head of World Bank, on the conferment of an honorary doctorate in international development studies at YU. I hope that more in-depth education and research will be conducted together in the field of international development cooperation with YU, which is supporting the development and leap of developing countries by developing Korea's growth experience into academics.” 

<Chairman HAN Jae-sook of Yeongnam School Corporation is reading the congratulatory message of President YOON Seok-yeol>

 Former UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon and National Assembly member PARK Jin also congratulated Former President KIM Yong through videos. Former UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon said, "Dr. KIM, as the president of World Bank, has lived a life of contribution in the global village by sharing his competence and wisdom to overcome poverty, to develop society, and to reduce inequality in developing countries. I believe that today's honorary doctorate is a precious reward given by YU and the people of Korea for the achievements and footsteps of Dr. KIM Yong. I believe that Dr. KIM Yong will make more passionate and broad contributions in solving the challenging tasks facing the global village today.” Park Jin, a member of the National Assembly, said, “It means a lot that Former President KIM Yong, who has contributed in overcoming poverty in developing countries and sustainable development of the global village, is receiving an honorary doctorate in international development from YU, which inherits the spirit of the Saemaul Undong and realizes the vision of a creative innovation university that contributes to the prosperity of human society. I hope that the honorary doctorate that Former President KIM Yong received today will serve as a great foundation for fostering global talent as well as individual glory.”

<Commemorative tree planting for conferment of an honorary doctorate by Former President KIM Yong of World Bank>

 Former President KIM is evaluated to have prepared an innovative financial system to combat hunger in developing countries, built social infrastructure, and prevented global epidemics, as well as respond to global challenges such as climate change and refugee issues during his tenure. He greatly expanded the activities of the International Development Association (IDA), a development fund for developing countries under World Bank Group and dramatically increased the capital of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Finance Corporation (IFC). The "Pandemic Emergency Finance Facility (PEF)” prepared during his tenure contributed greatly in prevention of the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018 and he implemented the ‘Famine Action Mechanism’, a hunger detection and prevention system using artificial intelligence.

 Former President KIM has been at the forefront of solving the problems of developing countries, such as poverty, disease, and social systems, not only during his tenure at World Bank but throughout his entire life. Former President KIM also directly established an international NGO (non-governmental organization) to support health and medical care in developing countries. He established “Partners in Health” in 1987 and worked for developing countries such as Haiti, Peru, and Rwanda. Especially, PIH has made a great achievements in fighting tuberculosis in poor countries. World Health Organization (WHO) has also applied the PIH model to create community-based health care programs. Since leaving from World Bank in 2019, Former President KIM has served as Vice-Chairman of Global Infrastructure Partners and has been constantly carrying out global social contribution activities, such as leading the development of social infrastructure in developing countries.

 Former President KIM was also active as a scholar and educator. He received his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Anthropology degrees from Harvard University, served as a professor at Harvard University, and held positions such as Chairman of the Department of International Health and Society at the School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Health and Human Rights at the Graduate School of Health. In 2009, he became the first Asian-American president of Dartmouth College, one of the Ivy League universities. 

 The conferment of an honorary doctorate on Former President KIM Yong is noteworthy because his degree is awarded by YU. In recent one year, three national leaders at YU have received honorary doctorates in international development studies one after another. Prior to Former President KIM Yong, David M. Beasley, Secretary General of the United Nations World Food Program (UN WFP) and Yim Chhay Ly, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, received honorary doctorates in international development from YU. Their common point is that they have taken the lead in overcoming poverty in developing countries and ending hunger worldwide as the leaders of international organizations or countries. It is in line with the educational goal of cultivating talented people to contribute in prosperity of human society pursued by YU. 

The fact that YU is the birthplace of “Saemaul Studies,” which is internationally recognized as a native Korean study, is also the reason why they receive degrees from YU. This is because “Saemaul Studies” systematizes Saemaul Undong, which was Korea’s poverty alleviation policy, into an academic discipline and Saemaul Undong is currently being introduced as a poverty alleviation model in developing countries around the world. YU, World Bank, and UN WFP, etc. have been working in their respective fields with the common goal of overcoming global poverty and co-prosperity of human society.

YU has been accumulating educational and research performances and know-how for more than 40 years until now. YU established research institutions and professional education and training centers as well as faculty and graduate school courses such as Park Chung-hee Saemaul Institution, Park Chung-hee Graduate School of Saemaul, International Development & Cooperation Center, and Department of Saemaul International Development, academized Saemaul Undong as a sector of studies, and has been implementing various projects in Saemaul International Development area. Especially, Park Chung-hee Graduate School of Saemaul, established in 2011 to nurture Saemaul leaders in developing countries, has enrolled 853 students from 73 countries around the world and, among them, 725 persons received a master's degree in Saemaul Studies and are active as major policy makers, international development experts, and Saemaul Undong leaders in central government agencies, public institutions, and international development NGOs. 

 In a congratulatory speech, Chairman HAN Jae-sook of Yeongnam School Corporation (second from the right in the photo above), who attended the commencement ceremony, said, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thank as a citizen of the Republic of Korea and as a citizen of the world to former President KIM Yong, who has devoted himself to serving humanity. I look forward to sharing the academic achievements of international development in connection with Saemaul at YU with the world and contributing to co-prosperity of the global village through today’s graduation ceremony.”

 President CHOI Oe-chool of YU said, “Today’s honorary doctorate conferment ceremony is also a place to evaluate Former President KIM Yong’s achievements and honor individual achievements, but the world will be happier and safer as more global leaders like Former President KIM Yong were produced. Today's graduation ceremony was held with the hope that the world will become a happier and safer world. This is because the traces of world-class achievements and life trajectory by Former President KIM Yong are the ideal talents and role model that YU and next generations have to pursue. I hope that students studying at YU will become talented people who contribute to the prosperity of human society.”