Sungsup Ra

Sungsup Ra is a development expert who teaches and advises on a range of development issues. Before joining KDI in 2024, he served as Deputy Director General and Deputy Group Chief of the Sectors Group at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he supported ADB-wide strategies, partnerships, knowledge initiatives, and innovations across education, energy, finance, health, transport, urban development, and water sectors. He previously held leadership roles including Chief Sector Officer of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Director of the South Asia Human and Social Development Division, and Chair of the Education Sector Group for over a decade. Since joining ADB in 2001, he has also been Director of the Pacific Strategy and Special Operations, Senior Advisor to the Managing Director General, and Deputy Country Director for Bangladesh and Nepal.

A strategic and innovative leader, Mr. Ra has guided high-level policy dialogues with developing countries and played a key role in expanding ADB’s social sector initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led emergency responses in health, education, and social protection in South Asia. He is engaged in global initiatives on education financing, pandemic preparedness, and energy transition. Prior to ADB, he worked with Samsung and the Korean National Pension Service, and taught at leading universities in Japan, Korea, and the United States, including International Christian University, Korea University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his doctorate in economics.