Mr. Rhee, a Korean national, was the Vice-Chairman of the Financial Services Commission as well as Chairman of the Securities & Futures Commission, and has over 20 years experience as an economist, financial advisor and academic. An expert in debt management and fixed income markets, he has worked in the past with ADB as a leading international consultant.

"I am honored and excited to join the ADB at a time when Asia's global role is changing and expanding. I hope to contribute to ADB's research capacity and reputation as the key development institution in the region," Mr. Rhee said.

In the public sector he has provided extensive policy support to the Korean government, including serving as a member of the National Economic Advisory Council in the Office of the President, and advisor to the Bank of Korea. In the private sector, he has advised Shinhan Bank and Woori Investment and Securities Company, among others. He has also been the director of the financial market think tank, the Korea Fixed Income Research Institute.

In his role as Chief Economist, Mr. Rhee will act as ADB's spokesperson on economic issues and head its Economics and Research Department which carries out policy research on development challenges facing Asia and the Pacific. The department also works closely with the international research community, and produces the Asian Development Outlook, ADB's flagship publication which forecasts economic trends in the region.

As an academic he has served as a professor of economics at Seoul National University, with numerous research papers published in leading economic journals. He received a PhD in Economics at Harvard University in 1989.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region.