Welcoming Remarks

On behalf of the Korean Economic Association (KEA), I extend a warm welcome to the KER International Conference. Since its establishment in Pusan, Republic of Korea, on November 30, 1952, the KEA has been a leading economic society that promotes research activities in Korea through the publication of academic journals, the organization of academic conferences, and exchanges with domestic and foreign research institutes. Today, the KEA is recognized as Korea's preeminent economic association, with more than 5,000 individual members. We are also proud to collaborate with several prominent universities in Korea to host the World Congress of the Econometric Society in Seoul during August 18-22, 2025, which is one of the largest quinquennial academic gatherings in the field of economics.

The KER International Conference, initiated in 1984 as a biennial international conference of the KEA, has been held annually since 2016, and we are delighted to host the 24th edition of the conference this year. We express our sincere gratitude to the Korea-America Economic Association (KAEA) for its enduring support and cooperation on this conference from the very beginning.

Theﾠconference theme is "Global Inflation and Challenges Ahead." Since the onset of the pandemic, the world economy has been grappling with high levels of global inflation, coupled with low economic growth, as central banks resort to tight monetary policies to counter inflationary pressures. The recent escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the ongoing trend of deglobalization have further intensified the level of uncertainty surrounding the global economy.

Manyﾠdistinguished scholars will present their recent academic research papers and participate in discussions on issues related to, but not limited to, the conference theme.

Weﾠwould like to express our sincere thanks to the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Korea Development Institute, the Bank of Korea, Korea Rural Economic Institute and Korea-America Economic Association for co-hosting this conference. The success of this conference is due to the tireless efforts of our dedicated colleagues. We extend our deepest gratitude to Professors Jinwoo Kim and Yongsung Chang, co-chairs of the organizing committee, and Professor SungJin Cho and other members of the KEA.

Weﾠlook forward to the continued contributions of our academics and hope that this conference can serve as a vital platform not only to exchange academic ideas but also to contribute to solving problems and challenges facing our economy. We thank you again for your interest and participation and wish you a fruitful and constructive time at this conference.

Thank you very much.

Yoon-Jae Whang

President, The Korean Economic Association