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Vice Chair of the National Economic Advisory Council
Kim Sung-sik
Centrist Fiscal Expert From Conservatives Tapped by Lee
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Last Updated on Feb 4, 2026
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Vice Chair of the National Economic Advisory Council
Life Summary
Kim Sung-sik is the Vice Chair of the National Economic Advisory Council.
He focuses on establishing development strategies for the national economy and setting major policy directions.
He was born on December 16, 1958, in Busan.
He graduated from Busan High School and the Department of Economics at Seoul National University.
After becoming involved in the pro-democracy movement, he entered politics.
At the time he entered politics, he was classified as part of the progressive camp, but like many former activist politicians, he shifted to conservatism in the mid-1990s.
Kim Sung-sik ran as a candidate of the United Democratic Party in the 15th general election and as a candidate of the Grand National Party in the 16th general election, but was defeated in both races.
After serving as Vice Governor for Political Affairs under Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu in 2004, he entered the National Assembly in 2008 by winning the 18th general election as the Grand National Party candidate for Seoul’s Gwanak-gap district.
Kim Sung-sik later left the Grand National Party in 2011 while calling for party reform and ran as an independent candidate in the 19th general election, but failed to return to the National Assembly. In the 20th general election, he won a seat as a candidate of the People’s Party and also served in party leadership roles, including Supreme Council member and Chair of the Policy Committee.
Afterward, he stepped away from frontline politics and engaged in what he described as “strategic restraint,” serving as an advisor to Law Firm HwaWoo from 2021 to 2025, before being appointed Vice Chair of the National Economic Advisory Council about 10 years later.
#KimSungSik #NationalEconomicAdvisoryCouncil #KoreanPolitics #EconomicPolicy #DemocracyMovement #NationalAssembly #People’sParty #GrandNationalParty #PolicyStrategy #PoliticalCareer
He focuses on establishing development strategies for the national economy and setting major policy directions.
He was born on December 16, 1958, in Busan.
He graduated from Busan High School and the Department of Economics at Seoul National University.
After becoming involved in the pro-democracy movement, he entered politics.
At the time he entered politics, he was classified as part of the progressive camp, but like many former activist politicians, he shifted to conservatism in the mid-1990s.
Kim Sung-sik ran as a candidate of the United Democratic Party in the 15th general election and as a candidate of the Grand National Party in the 16th general election, but was defeated in both races.
After serving as Vice Governor for Political Affairs under Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu in 2004, he entered the National Assembly in 2008 by winning the 18th general election as the Grand National Party candidate for Seoul’s Gwanak-gap district.
Kim Sung-sik later left the Grand National Party in 2011 while calling for party reform and ran as an independent candidate in the 19th general election, but failed to return to the National Assembly. In the 20th general election, he won a seat as a candidate of the People’s Party and also served in party leadership roles, including Supreme Council member and Chair of the Policy Committee.
Afterward, he stepped away from frontline politics and engaged in what he described as “strategic restraint,” serving as an advisor to Law Firm HwaWoo from 2021 to 2025, before being appointed Vice Chair of the National Economic Advisory Council about 10 years later.
#KimSungSik #NationalEconomicAdvisoryCouncil #KoreanPolitics #EconomicPolicy #DemocracyMovement #NationalAssembly #People’sParty #GrandNationalParty #PolicyStrategy #PoliticalCareer