With nearly 20 years of experience in the field, Dr. Um has been a public researcher for the National Institute of Environmental Research, where he specializes in waste management engineering and contributes to building a new policy framework with strategic environmental assessment for effective waste management in Korea, since 2013. Prior to that, he was with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources as an assistant scientist from 2005 to 2009, and as an associate scientist from 2009 to 2013. His work on a number of national projects included development of recycling technology of wastes for civil engineering and construction material by integrated management system.