Prof. Se Young Ahn is a full professor at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) at Sogang University. He recently served as the chairman of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities, and Social Sciences (Governor of the 23 National Think Tanks, such as KDI, KIEP, KIET) from 2013 to 2016. He serves as the chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation. He is also a member of the National Development Committee (MOSF), which is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.
Before joining the faculty of Sogang University, he had been working in the Korean government for 24 years. Also, he served as an Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy in the Office of the President (Blue House) and an Investment Promotion Officer in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Washington, D.C., U.S.A). His major job in the government agencies was to negotiate with Korea's trading partners and coordinate trade policy in Korea. He retired as the Director General of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy in 2000, and joined the faculty of the Sogang GSIS. He served as a dean of Sogang GSIS and a member of the ‘Presidential Committee on Economic Policy’.
His major academic concerns are trade policy and economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as TPP, RCEP, and China-Japan-Korea FTA. He graduated from Seoul National University and received a Doctor's degree from the PANTHEON-SORBONNE(Paris I) University in France.