Photo: 창비 / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Rhyu Si-min

柳時敏　/　ゆ・しみん

Politician from South Korea

July 28, 1959 (age 66)　・　Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, South Korea

North Gyeongsang
politician
journalist
civil servant

My Take

What interests me about Rhyu Si-min is that he is a politician who never stopped being a teacher. He studied economics at Seoul National University, earned a master's in Germany, and served as Minister of Health and Welfare under Roh Moo-hyun, but his lasting value may be his work translating economics into plain language for ordinary readers. I respect public figures who treat clarity as a civic duty rather than a brand. He is clearly stubborn and ideologically firm, which earns him enemies, yet that same conviction is exactly why his voice still carries weight in Korean public life.

Overview

Rhyu Si-min (Korean: 유시민; born 28 July 1959) is a South Korean politician who served as the 44th Minister of Health and Welfare from February 2006 to May 2007 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration . Rhyu studied economics at Seoul National University and later earned a master's degree in economics from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Rhyu Si-min
Name (Japanese): 柳時敏
Reading: ゆ・しみん
Born: July 28, 1959 (age 66)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Leo / Boar
Origin: Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, South Korea
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: politician / journalist / civil servant / university teacher / economist

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Seoul National University

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role	Year
Notable work	Rhyu Si-min's Economics Cafe	—

6. Links

Xhttps://x.com/u_simin
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9F%B3%E6%99%82%E6%95%8F

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