YONG-HAK KIM 김용학

KFAS Fellowship 5th Term (1982)

PhD, Sociology, University of Chicago, 1986

Thesis: Resource Mobilization and Deployment in the National Policy Domains: Linking Structure and Action Using Mathematical Models

Work & Experiences 

• Associate Editor of American Journal of Society (1984-1985)
• International Editor of American Journal of Sociology (1987-1997)
• Professor of Sociology, Yonsei University, South Korea (1987-2020)
• Member, Board of Directors, Samsung Life Insurance’s Public Welfare Foundation (2015-present)
• 18th President, Yonsei University, South Korea (2016-2020)
• Chairman of Board of Directors, SKTelecom (2020-present)

Yong-Hak Kim is a scholar of social science methodologies and social organization whose research and teaching first introduced social network analysis to Korea. Upon graduation from the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago, he was nominated for the annual dissertation award. After graduation, Yong-Hak Kim went on to serve as a Professor of Sociology at Yonsei University before being elected as Yonsei’s 18th President. In 1994, Kim returned to the University of Chicago to serve as a visiting professor in the graduate program in Sociology. He has also served as a member of the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning and is currently serving on the board of directors at Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation. His main publications include Comparative Sociology (2000), Social Network Analysis (2003), Social Network Theory (2011) and Networking Across Boundaries (2022).  He received a 2006 Gallup Korea Award for an outstanding research paper, a National Academy of Sciences award (2004), the Republic of Korea Outstanding Academic Books award for his monograph Social Network Analysis, and a 1994  Yonsei University Academic Award.