Dr. Hyunghwan Joo is a former Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy. Currently, he serves as a senior advisor at J.Concilia, a policy consulting firm specializing in providing guidance and advice to governments and businesses in the areas of industrial, trade, mining, and energy policies and investments. Dr. Joo holds the position of chair professor of Public Administration at Sejong University and is also an invited professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. In addition to his advisory role, he has shared his expertise through teaching at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Seoul National University.

Prior to his advisory and academic pursuits, Dr. Joo dedicated 34 years to serving in pivotal policy-making positions within the Korean government. His illustrious roles encompassed serving as Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Vice Minister of Finance and Economy, Senior Advisor to the President for Economic Affairs, and Deputy Minister for Economic and Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, and the Office of the President. Moreover, he held the position of Secretary General of Presidential Committees on Green Growth, National Competitiveness, and Future Planning, where he contributed to shaping the nation's overall vision and sustainable development, including energy and environmental policy, and strengthening national competitiveness. In addition to these national roles, he served as a Senior Advisor for Science, Technology, and Innovation at the Inter-American Development Bank and as an Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank.

Dr. Joo earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration and a Master of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, along with a B.A. in Business Administration from Seoul National University.