Woo-Jong Lee is a Professor of Accounting at the SNU Business School. He earned his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Seoul National University and previously served as an Associate Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has pursued research that advances knowledge about Korean firms and capital markets, and has published such work in leading academic journals. He also serves on governance bodies of public and private companies, advisory boards of nonprofit foundations, and editorial boards of scholarly journals.

Academic career:

• Professor (with Tenure), Seoul National University (2020-present)
• Associate Professor, Seoul National University (2016-2020)
• Assistant Professor, Seoul National University (2015)
• Associate Professor (with Tenure), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2014-2015)
• Assistant Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2008-2014)
• Ph.D., Seoul National University
• B.B.A., Seoul National University

Recognitions:

• Samil PwC Distinguished Professor
• Teaching Award, SNU Business School
• Reviewer Award, Korean Academic Society of Taxation
• Reviewer Award, Hawaii Accounting Research Conference
• Best Paper Award, American Accounting Association
• Best Paper Award, Korea Games Association
• Best Paper Award, Korea Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Best Paper Award, Korean Academic Society of Business Administration
• Best Paper Award, Korean Accounting Association
• Research Grant, National Research Foundation of Korea
• Research Grant, Korean Securities Association
• Research Grant, Korea Accounting Standards Board
• Research Grant, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong
• Next-Generation Scholar, Seoul National University
• Outstanding Faculty Award, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Services:

• Director, Center for Accounting Research, SNU Business School
• Vice President, Korean Accounting Association
• KOSDAQ Market Committee Member, Korea Exchange
• Supervisory Committee Member, Financial Services Commission
• Co-editor: Korean Accounting Review
• Co-editor, Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics

Research on Korean Firms:

1. “An Empirical Analysis of Gender Differences in Asymmetric Labor Adjustment: Evidence from Korea”, with Meeok Cho, Jiwon Hyeon and Hee-Yeon Sunwoo. Review of Accounting Studies, 2025, 30 (2): 1716-1752
2. “Length of IPO Prospectus and Individual Investors’ Demand for IPO Shares”, with Meeok Cho, Sunhwa Choi and Sehee Kim. Accounting Horizons, 2024, 38 (4): 71-83
3. "The Importance of Organizational Context for the Relation between Human Capital Investment and Firm Performance: Evidence from Labor Unions”, with Hee-Yeon Sunwoo, Justin Law, and Seungbin Oh. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 2021, 33 (1): 197-217
4. “Do Labor Unions Always Lead to Underinvestment?”, with Hyungjin Cho, Bryan Byung-Hee Lee, and Byungcherl Charlie Sohn. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 2017, 29 (1): 45-66
5. “Do Managers Withhold Good News from Labor Unions?”, with Richard Chung, Bryan Byung-Hee Lee, and Byungcherl Charlie Sohn. Management Science, 2016, 62 (1): 42-68
6. “Debt Financing and Accounting Conservatism in Private Firms”, with In-Mu Haw and Jay Junghun Lee. Contemporary Accounting Research, 2014, 31 (4): 1220-1259
7. “Does Information Risk Affect the Implied Cost of Equity Capital? An Analysis of PIN and Adjusted PIN”, with Lee-Seok Hwang, Seung-Yeon Lim, and Kyung-Ho Park. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2013, 55 (2-3), 148-167



Other Research:

8. "Pro-Labor Institutions and Corporate Employment Efficiency”, with Boochun Jung, Tony Kang, and Gaoguang Zhou. Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 2022, 37 (3): 547-561
9. “Organized Labor and Inventory Stockpiling”, with Sophia Hamm, Boochun Jung, and Daniel Gunhee Yang. The Accounting Review, 2022, 97 (2): 241-266
10. “The Effect of External Audits: Evidence from Voluntary Audits of Hedge Funds”, with Dichu Bao, Jong-Hag Choi, and Byoung Uk Kang. Accounting Horizons, 2021, 35 (4): 23-43
11. "Asymmetric Inventory Management and the Direction of Sales Changes”, with Iny Hwang, Taejin Jung and Daniel Gunhee Yang. Contemporary Accounting Research, 2021, 38 (1): 676-706
12. “Political Uncertainty and Cost Stickiness: Evidence from National Elections around the World”, with Walid Saffar and Jeffrey Pittman. Contemporary Accounting Research, 2020, 37 (2): 1107-1139
13. “Labor Unions and Income Smoothing”, with Sophia Hamm and Boochun Jung. Contemporary Accounting Research, 2018, 35 (3): 1201-1228
14. “The Impact of Dividend Covenants on Investment and Operating Performance”, with Boochun Jung and Sunny Yang. Journal of Business, Finance, and Accounting, 2016, 43 (3)&(4): 414-447
15. “Financial Reporting Quality and Labor Investment Efficiency”, with Boochun Jung and David P. Weber. Contemporary Accounting Research, 2014, 31 (4): 1047-1076
16. “Do Takeover Defenses Impair Equity Investors’ Perception of ‘High Quality’ Earnings?”, with Lee-Seok Hwang. Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance, 2012, 27(3), 325-358



Books:

17. “Lectures for CFOs” (17th ed.), coauthored. Seoul Economics and Business Press
18. “Accounting Principles” (5th ed.), coauthored. Shinyoungsa, 2024