Hong Seok-hyun (born October 20, 1949) is a noted figure in South Korean media industry. He is the chairman of JoongAng Holdings, Korea Peace Foundation and Korea Baduk Association. He is a brother-in-law of Lee Kun-hee. In 1994 he became the president and publisher of JoongAng Ilbo. Since then, he has led major innovations in South Korean newspaper industry, and completed comprehensive and all-round media portfolio with different media organizations. As being recognized by a wide range of global network and partnership of the company, he served as the president of the World Association of Newspapers from 2002 to early 2005, and was the first person from Asia to hold the post. He was also a president of the ROK's Korea Association of Newspapers from 2003 to 2005. He has been active in public service as well. From late 70s to early 80s, he worked in the World Bank and South Korean government service. Also, he served as the ambassador to the United States from February 2005 until his resignation in September 2005. Hong graduated from Kyunggi High School in 1968. He received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Seoul National University (South Korea) in 1972, and a master's in industrial engineering from Stanford University (U.S.) in 1978. He went on to acquire a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University (U.S.) in 1980. CEO of a global media group Since he became the president and publisher of JoongAng Ilbo in 1994, he has achieved major innovations and development of South Korean newspapers. He has presented new standards such as the induction of specialized journalists (1994), the publication of sectional newspapers (1994), the start of an online news service for the first time in Asia (1995) and the publication of a high-end Sunday newspaper (2007) etc. These were all firsts in South Korean press history and soon became new standards for the local industry. In 2009, JoongAng Ilbo changed its format from Broadsheet to Berliner, which was the first move among South Korean newspapers. In 2000s, JoongAng Ilbo has expanded into a comprehensive and all-round media group, which is called JMnet(JoongAng Media Network). JMnet has achieved vertical integration from content production to content distribution by operating newspapers (JoongAng Ilbo, JoongAng Sunday, IS Ilgan Sports, Korea JoongAng daily, The Korea Daily), broadcasting channels (JTBC, JTBC2, JTBC3 Fox Sports, JTBC Golf), publishing, magazine and entertainment sectors (MegaBox). JMnet became the only media group