Chung Mong Joon

▪ 1997

      When the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced in mid-1996 that South Korea and Japan would serve as cohosts of its World Cup 2002, the South Korean people were both elated by the news and filled with admiration for National Assemblyman Chung Mong Joon, the man who made what seemed an impossible dream come true. Chung had seen South Korea transform itself from a war-ravaged country into one of the world's leading industrialized nations. More important, he watched his father develop a small automobile repair shop into a conglomerate known as the Hyundai Group. He also took pride in the fact that his father was largely responsible for bringing the Olympic Games to Seoul in 1988.

      Chung was born on Oct. 17, 1951, in Seoul. He attended the prestigious Seoul National University, where he majored in economics, and then obtained a master of business administration degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in international relations at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. During his youth Chung excelled in soccer, basketball, and skiing. His strong interest in sports led to his becoming president of the Korean Archery Association (1983-85), president of the Korean Football Association (from 1993), and vice president of FIFA (from 1994). With such a background he was able to persuade authorities that South Korea should be the host of World Cup 2002.

      On the basis of his research and the practical experience he gained as chairman of Hyundai Heavy Industries, Chung wrote The Government-Business Relationship of Japan. Critics agreed that this book made a valuable contribution to an understanding of the role of the government in industrial development, not only in Japan but also in other countries, particularly those that were trying to catch up with the more advanced nations. Chung also served as chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Ulsan (from 1983) and as a board member of Johns Hopkins University (from 1995).

      Chung's political career began in 1988 when he ran for the National Assembly from Ulsan, the seat of many Hyundai industries, including automobile, shipbuilding, and steel. He was reelected in 1996.

      Chung's numerous honours included a National Medal of Zaire (1982), Decoration for the Hosting of the Seoul Olympics (1988), and a Silver Monument Medal for Industry (1994).

      (LEE JAI SEONG)

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