President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday appointed Samuel Koo, a former journalist, new chairman of the Presidential Council on National Branding.

Koo, 70, is currently one of the 32 members of the panel. He will serve until next April.

He once worked as a reporter for The Korea Herald and the Associated Press. He later headed Arirang TV and was ambassador for cultural cooperation.

Koo studied public administration at Korea University and earned his master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)