Civil servant and media executive who served as Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism and President of the Korea Tourism Organization
| Life | 1949 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 함양 오씨 |
O Ji-cheol (吳志哲, born 1949) is a South Korean civil servant and media executive of the Hamyang O clan. Born in Seoul, he graduated from Seoul High School and from the law faculty of Seoul National University in 1973, and received a master's degree there in 1977 and a doctorate in 1995. He began his career as head of the international section of the Korea Sports Council in 1977 and was later director of overseas cooperation at the Ministry of Sports and director of international sports at the Ministry of Sports and Youth, and in 1993 was a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School.
After serving as secretary-general of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in 1994, he was director of international sports in the Ministry of Culture and Sports and director of culture-industry and cultural-policy bureaus and head of planning in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and from March 2003 to July 2004 he was Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism. He then served as senior adviser at the law firm Yulchon, head of the Korea Cable TV Association, special policy adviser in the Presidential Office, vice chair of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics bid committee, and from November 2007 to May 2009 President of the Korea Tourism Organization. In 2005 he also chaired the 2010 Game Industry Strategy Committee.
After serving as head of Chosun Ilbo's broadcasting division in 2010, he became CEO and president of TV Chosun in January 2011, and has also been an endowed professor and dean at Dankook University's graduate school of culture and arts, chair of the Heart-Heart Foundation International and the 11th chair of the Korea NGO Council for Overseas Development Cooperation. He received the Baekma Order of Sports Merit in 1986, the Order of Service Merit (Hwangjo) as Civil Servant of the Year in 1996, and the Maenghoh Order of Sports Merit in 2012. Korean Wikipedia lists him as a modern member of the Hamyang O clan. This page covers only public posts and offices and omits private information. His career, from sports administration through culture and tourism policy to broadcasting management, is cited as a case of moving between public service and the private sector. Positions can change, so please check official sources for the latest information.
His career began in the international section of the Korea Sports Council and continued through the sports ministries and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. He was Vice Minister in 2003-2004 and President of the Korea Tourism Organization in 2007-2009.
He became president of TV Chosun in 2011 and received the Baekma Order of Sports Merit (1986), the Hwangjo Order of Service Merit (1996) and the Maenghoh Order of Sports Merit (2012).