Ambassador Im Hong-Jae is Vice-President and Secretary-General of the United Nations Global Compact Korea Network. Before he retired from 33 years of diplomatic career in 2010, Secretary-General Im served as Korean Ambassador to Iraq, Iran, and Vietnam for approximately six years. Before his tour as ambassador, he served as Director-General of the International Economic Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), Counsellor at the Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, and the Korean Delegation to the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Earlier in his career, Secretary-General Im was also Consul at the Korean Consulate General in New York, First Secretary at the Korean Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand, and Counsellor at the Korean Embassy in the Republic of Costa Rica. Secretary-General Im received his bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Seoul National University and read International Relations at the University of Oxford.