KIM Yeon-chul received a doctorate in political science from the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Sungkyunkwan University (August 1996). He served as a senior researcher on the North Korea research team at the Samsung Economic Research Institute, policy adviser to the Minister of Unification, director of the Hankyoreh Peace Research Institute, director of the Korea Institute for National Unification, and the 40th Minister of Unification. He is currently a professor at Inje University and serves as the chairman of the Korean Peninsula Peace Forum, an incorporated association. He received the grand prize at the 15th Unification Press Award, and his books include 『North Korea's Industrialization and Economic Policy』 (2001), 『Negotiation Strategy』 (2016), and 『70 Years of Dialogue: A New Reading of the History of Inter-Korean Relations』.