Where is Sang Min Leo Whang from?
Sang-Min Whang
South Korea
Sang Min Leo Whang (November 10, 1962- ) is a South Korean psychologist, author, and popular political commentator. His has empirically investigated "the Korean Peoples' identity & their mass-psychology" by connecting it to a variety of issues such as self, online world identity, consumption behavior, love & relationships, power desire and political decision making.[1][2]  He has mainly researched the different psychological types of people and how the human mind works in on and offline settings.  His most well-known projects are WPI (Whang's Personality Inventory),[3][4] research on the identities of online game players, and research on politicians' public images.[5]  Whang has been a professor at Sejong University from 1994-1997 and at Yonsei University from 1994-2016.  In January 2016, he was dismissed from his position as a tenured professor at Yonsei University, by excuse of violating an ethical rule, 'having a job outside of professorship without the permission of the university president.'  There is controversy and speculation surrounding his dismissal.  The unusual dismissal of a tenured professor from his position was a retaliatory decision made because of Whang's criticism against Geun-hye Park, the 11th President of South Korea.  She was later impeached and dismissed from the presidency. Whang's dismissal was planned and executed by the late president of Yonsei University, Gap Young Cheung who denied his involvement of this case as a president of university. The late president Gap Young Cheung had a strong reputation that he had wished to hold a government or Blue House position during Ms. Park's presidency.  After the impeachment of Ms. Park, Cheung retired from the university and remained as an honorary professor.  Whang's dismissal is appreciated as an example of an evidence of latent oppression on academia by power.  Dr. Whang currently runs a podcast WhangShimSo, where he provides free consultations on personal and career conflicts, and commentates on the diverse social issues in Korean Society.[6]