Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Korea’s RDA appoints Hwang-keun Chung as new administrator


(Photo: RDA)

Mr. Hwang-keun Chung was appointed as the new administrator of Korea’s Rural Development Administration (RDA) on 17 August, succeeding Mr. Yang-Ho Lee. 

Mr. Chung has a B.A. in Agriculture from Seoul National University and has served as the deputy director of the Agriculture Policy Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; director general of both the Rural Policy Bureau and Agricultural Policy Bureau under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries; and secretary to the President for Agriculture, Livestock, and Food.

Mr. Chung will continue to pursue all opportunities to strengthen the collaborative relationship between RDA and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), according to Dr. Jeom-ho Lee, director, International Technology Cooperation Center, RDA. 

“Our partnership is of paramount importance under the present challenges facing international agricultural,” Lee wrote in a letter to IRRI Director General Matthew Morell. “Our collaboration will contribute much to the development of agricultural science and technology, and ultimately to the welfare of farmers around the globe. Undoubtedly, in the capable hands of the new RDA administrator, our cooperation will be further consolidated. We look forward to building a more fruitful and lasting R&D partnership with you.”

The Government of the Republic of Korea has been collaborating with IRRI through the RDA since the 1960s. The research partnership includes rice breeding using temperate japonica rice varieties and tropical indica varieties as parents. This produced the rice variety Tongil, which transformed the country from a rice importer to a self-sufficient producer.

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