Young Tae Kim takes office as ITF Secretary-General

The International Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD has a new Secretary-General. Dr Young Tae Kim, a Korean national, took up his position at the organisation’s Paris headquarters on 21 August. Kim is the first non-European to lead the world’s only all-modes transport organisation. The ITF acts as a policy think tank for its 59 member countries and organises the annual summit of transport ministers. Created as global intergovernmental transport organisation in 2006, the ITF evolved out of the European
August 22, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The 998 International Transport Forum (ITF) at the 7353 OECD has a new Secretary-General. Dr Young Tae Kim, a Korean national, took up his position at the organisation’s Paris headquarters on 21 August.


Kim is the first non-European to lead the world’s only all-modes transport organisation.

The ITF acts as a policy think tank for its 59 member countries and organises the annual summit of transport ministers. Created as global intergovernmental transport organisation in 2006, the ITF evolved out of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport founded in 1953.

“It is a privilege to lead an organisation that drives global dialogue for better transport”, Kim said upon taking office. “I thank the ministers of transport of ITF member countries for entrusting me with the leadership of ITF. I will work with all of them to consolidate what has been achieved, to make our work even more relevant for them, and to further strengthen the ITF’s global impact.”

“Transport technology and services are changing in dramatic ways that require new policy responses. I want ITF to be a global pioneer of advanced transport policies for the 21st century”, Kim added.

Kim paid tribute to his predecessor, José Viegas, saying his achievements over the past five years provide a strong foundation to build on.

Prior to becoming ITF Secretary-General, Kim served as a Director-General in Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. His career also included roles working for the President and the Prime Minister of Korea as well as three years at the Korean Embassy in Washington, DC. Kim holds a doctorate degree from the Institute d’Etudes Politiques (Science-Po) in Paris, France.

Related Content

  • July 5, 2019
    US cities form OMF to develop digital mobility tools
    A group of US cities have formed the Open Mobility Foundation (OMF) to develop and govern digital mobility tools aimed at improving how cities manage transportation. Growing from a collaboration between the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and the city of Santa Monica, the OMF intends to bring together academic and municipal stakeholders to develop the technology. Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles mayor, says: “The OMF will help us manage emerging transportation infrastructures, and make mobility more a
    Read More
  • December 17, 2013
    New CEO for Swarco
    Austrian-based traffic technology group Swarco has appointed Cees de Wijs as its new Chief Executive Officer. De Wijs, who has almost 20 years of experience in traffic and transport telematics across all transport modes, will take up his new position on 1 January. De Wijs, aged 45, is a Dutch national and holds a PhD degree in engineering from Delft University of Technology. He previously worked for Royal KPN Group and Logica where he was transport and logistics group director, responsible for the comp
    Read More
  • January 24, 2024
    TRB 2024 challenge spurs smart transportation innovation
    The Center for Urban Informatics and Progress at UTC, Amazon Web Services, the National Science Foundation, the City of Chattanooga and ITS America sponsored the Transportation Forecasting Competition at TRB 2024: and the challenge threw up some fascinating projects
    Read More
  • May 23, 2014
    PTV calls for guidelines on secure data exchange
    At this year's annual summit of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, German PTV Group called on lawmakers to establish the rules and guidelines required to ensure open, standardised and secure data exchange. The company claims that the legal issues relating to the ever increasing amount of data available have to be resolved soon to will allow industry partners to launch new applications that solve transport-related issues in a more efficient manner. As a representative of the IT industry and OE
    Read More

Highlighted Content