Introduction
Sounman Hong is a scholar of AI, governance, and society. He is the Underwood Distinguished Professor in the Department of Public Policy and Management at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
Sounman holds a BA in Business Administration from Yonsei University, a BS in Computer Engineering from ACBS, and an MPP and PhD from Harvard University. Before starting his graduate studies, he gained professional experience as an associate at PwC and McKinsey & Company.
Op-eds & Commentary
Global media, selected
The Washington Post — How Racial Diversity Makes Police Forces Better (2017) [Commentary]
Salon — Bureaucracy is despised for inefficiency and waste. But it might just save us from climate change (2024) [Interview]
Los Angeles Times — Confirmation bias and political polarization in the US (2022) [Cited]
Forbes — Lessons From Rock ’n Roll: Innovative Pricing and Distribution (2014) [Cited]
CBS News — What happens when shoppers pick their own prices? (2014) [Cited]
The Wall Street Journal — A Blue-State Bailout in Disguise (2011) [Cited]
Korean media, selected
Donga Business Review — 10 Years After the AlphaGo Shock: What Lies Beyond AI's Reach and Remains Uniquely Human (2026, in Korean) [Interview]
Asia Today — AI Wearables Are Here—Korea Must Balance Protection and Risk-Taking (2026, in Korean) [Op-ed]
The Dong-A Ilbo — From Go Records to GPU Rigs: Why the “Big Picture” Still Belongs to Humans (2026, in Korean) [Interview]
The Dong-A Ilbo — 10 Years After the AlphaGo Shock: What Can Only Humans Do in the Age of AI? (2026, in Korean) [Interview]
Asia Today — Does AI Make Humans More Creative—or Less? (2026, in Korean) [Op-ed]
Asia Today — The New Role of Universities in the Age of AI (2025, in Korean) [Op-ed]
The Dong-A Ilbo — Which Jobs Will AI Replace—and Which Will It Transform? (2023, in Korean) [Op-ed]
Media & Contact
Sounman Hong’s research has been cited in leading global media, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CBS News, Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe, and has informed policy discussions, including reports by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Initiatives led by the Center for Digital Governance—directed by Sounman Hong—have been featured in international media, including AP News, The Globe and Mail, and NHK, as well as in major Korean outlets such as Chosun, Dong-A, JoongAng, Kyunghyang, Hankyoreh, Hankyung, and Maeil Business, and in media across Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and beyond.
Opportunities for media interviews, invited talks, and collaborations related to AI, governance, and society are welcomed.
For inquiries, please contact:
sounmanhong2025@gmail.com
Center for Digital Governance
The Center for Digital Governance at Yonsei University was established in early 2026 through the integration of the Center for Regulatory Governance and the Digital Governance Lab.
The Center advances research on the responsible governance of digital technologies, including AI, and on improving organizational performance through the strategic use of digital tools, alongside education and capacity-building initiatives.
In research, the Center led a cross-national collaboration with the University of Tokyo and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, supported by the AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific—an initiative led by AVPN with support from Google.org and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project examined how AI could be deployed to expand economic opportunity and workforce inclusion across the region.
In education, the Center organized initiatives such as the Asia Impact Hackathon, which brought together over 300 teams from 12 Asian countries. The program focused on applying digital technologies to real-world social challenges and was featured in international media, including AP News.
The Center is directed by Sounman Hong and is composed of Fellows, including undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and visiting fellows.
For further details, please see the Research and Initiatives sections of this site.
