Past World Congresses

Professor Cha graduated in Sociology from the Seoul National University and obtained his PhD at Choong-Ang University in Korea and began his career in 1971 in the Government of the Republic of Korea as Junior Secretary to the Office of the President. He then became Director of the Social Welfare Department in the Health Insurance Department of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea.

From 1976 to 1997, Professor Cha joined Hallym University, first as Professor of the Department of Social Welfare, then as Dean of the Social Science College and lastly as Vice President of the Establishment. Between 1997 and 1999, he chaired the Organizing Committee of IAGG’s 6th Asia/Oceania Regional Congress held in Seoul and also became President of the National Pension Corporation of Korea.

In 1999, Prof. Cha became Minister of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea.

From 2003 to 2004, Prof. Cha was respectively Dean at the Graduate School of Social Welfare at Hallym University, President of the Korean Gerontological Society, President of the Federation of Korean Gerontological Societies, President of the Korean Academy of Social Welfare. In 2004, he was appointed Advisory Chair at the Presidential Committee on Aging and Future Society of The Republic of Korea and two years later Chair of the Ministerial Committee on Future Strategy of Health Care Security. He is currently President of the Korean Association for Vision of Aging Society.