Professor You-il Lee

Professor You-il Lee is a political economist and Professor of International Business, currently serving as Dean of Programs (Management and Marketing) at UniSA Business, University of South Australia. In this capacity he provides academic leadership across a diverse portfolio, spanning Arts and Cultural Management, Marketing, Digital Business, Human Resource Management, International Business, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. His leadership is characterised by a sustained commitment to international engagement, industry collaboration, and community connection in business education.

Professor Lee holds a BA (Honours) and a PhD in Politics from Murdoch University. His internationally recognised research focuses on global political economy, international business, and East Asian development, with particular expertise in globalisation, regionalism, foreign direct investment (FDI), and state–market relations. His work integrates institutional political economy, comparative regionalism, and critical perspectives on global capitalism, with a distinctive focus on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

He has published widely in leading journals including International Business Review, International Marketing Review, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Contemporary Asia, and International Journal of Bank Marketing. His work also features in volumes  published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis), Oxford University Press, Edward Elgar, and the London Financial Times. A regular conference contributor and peer reviewer, Professor Lee is actively engaged in advancing scholarship in political economy and international business.

Recent major publications include several co-authored research monographs with Routledge, where he has served as first author on select volumes, demonstrating scholarly leadership and conceptual innovation. These include:

• The Political Economy of Foreign Direct Investment in Korea: Evolution, Dynamics and Contradictions (Routledge, 2025) – a first-authored analysis of Korea’s FDI regime and institutional evolution.

• Cross-Cultural Challenges of Managing 'One Belt One Road' Projects (Routledge, 2022) – a study of intercultural complexities in China’s global infrastructure strategy.

• The Korean Economy: From Growth to Maturity (Routledge, 2019) – a first-authored critical account of Korea’s economic transformation.

• The Political Economy of New Regionalism in Northeast Asia (Routledge, 2018) – an exploration of institutional and geopolitical drivers of regional cooperation.

Beyond academia, Professor Lee has advised governments, multinational corporations, and policy institutes on international investment, geopolitical risk, education diplomacy, and trade governance. He served as President of the Korean Studies Association of Australasia (2011–2015) and as a Board Member of the Australia–Korea Business Council (2018–2024), contributing strategic insights into bilateral economic and cultural relations.

A dedicated advocate for globally engaged and socially responsible business education, Professor Lee has led major curriculum reforms, established international articulation partnerships, and championed experiential and industry-relevant learning. His teaching, mentoring, and leadership have shaped the careers of emerging scholars and practitioners in international business and political economy across Australia and the Asia–Pacific.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy Murdoch University