PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Euncheol Shin

Also known as 신은철

Euncheol Shin is a KAIST economist whose research tests whether large language models learn preferences and how people respond to AI-generated advice. He earned mathematics and economics degrees at Yonsei in 2009 and an M.S. and Ph.D. in the Social Sciences at Caltech during 2010–2016. After roles at KDI and Kyung Hee, he joined KAIST in 2018, received research and teaching awards in 2021, and served as a Visiting Associate in Economics at Caltech from 2022 to 2023. His work includes a 2024 study of LLM preference learning and a 2026 experiment on AI financial advice for pension choices. He is a tenured associate professor at KAIST's College of Business and an adjunct professor in its AI College's AX department.

Now at
KAIST and AI College
Badges

Timeline

  1. 2003–2009

    Yonsei and National Assembly service

    From 2003 to 2009, he studies mathematics and economics at Yonsei University, earns a B.S. and a B.A., graduates with highest honors, and ranks first in the Department of Mathematics. He serves as a legislative assistant at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea in 2007 and completes military service in the Republic of Korea Air Force from 2004 to 2007.

  2. 2010–2016

    Graduate study at Caltech

    He studies at Caltech from September 2010 to June 2016, earning an M.S. and a Ph.D. in the Social Sciences under dissertation advisor Leeat Yariv.

  3. 2016–2021

    From KDI to KAIST faculty

    In 2016, he becomes a Research Fellow in KDI's Department of Competition Policy and an Assistant Professor in Kyung Hee University's Department of Economics. In August 2018, he joins KAIST's College of Business as an Assistant Professor. KAIST awards him the Award for Excellence in Research and the Hyung-Gyu Lim LINKGENESIS-Best Teacher Award in 2021.

  4. 2022–2023

    A Caltech visit and promotion

    In September 2022, he becomes an Associate Professor in KAIST's College of Business and serves as a Visiting Associate in Economics at Caltech from August 2022 to August 2023.

  5. 2024

    Testing LLM preference learning

    In 2024, he coauthors “Can an LLM Learn Preferences from Choice Data?” with four collaborators and proposes a framework to test whether LLMs infer preferences from choices and make personalized recommendations. The study reports higher recommendation accuracy as models observe more choices, with results varying by model and preference type; it is conditionally accepted at Review of Economics and Statistics.

  6. 2024–2026

    Fair Trade Commission adviser

    From 2024 to 2026, he advises South Korea's Fair Trade Commission. In 2026, he serves as Director of the Korean Econometric Society.

  7. August 2026

    AI advice for pension choices

    In an August 2026 paper with five coauthors, he studies how AI-generated financial recommendations affect pension choices. A South Korean experiment with 400 employed adults finds that participants revise hypothetical portfolios after viewing AI advice, and about 37% of the gap between aggressive and conservative recommendations carries into final portfolios.

  8. As of October 2026

    Adjunct professor in KAIST's AI College

    In September 2025, he becomes a tenured Associate Professor in KAIST's College of Business. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the AI College's AX department, with Human-AI Interaction among his competencies.

Career

  1. Since 2018KAISTAssistant Professor, Associate Professor
  2. NowAI CollegeAdjunct Professor
  3. 2024–2026Korea Fair Trade CommissionAdviser
  4. 2022–2023California Institute of TechnologyVisiting Associate in Economics
  5. 2016National Research Council for Economics Humanities and Social ScienceResearch Fellow
  6. 2016–2018Kyung Hee UniversityAssistant Professor
  7. 2007National Assembly of the Republic of KoreaLegislative Assistant
  8. 2004–2007Republic of Korea Air Force

Education

  1. 2016California Institute of TechnologyM.S. and Ph.D.
  2. 2009Yonsei UniversityB.S. and B.A.

From the biography.

  1. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes Euncheol Shin. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes KAIST. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes KAIST. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes KAIST. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Euncheol Shin yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Euncheol Shin - Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology pure.kaist.ac.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Euncheol Shin - Curriculum Vitae sites.google.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Can an LLM Learn Preferences from Choice Data? arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Euncheol Shin - 한국어 페이지 sites.google.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Do People Follow AI Advice? Evidence from a Pension Portfolio Choice Experiment arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Faculty | AX aicollege.kaist.ac.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.