A Korean public corporation will for the first time in history be headed by a foreign-born naturalized Korean. Lee Cham (55), the German-born media celebrity, was appointed CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization on Tuesday.

The KTO said a steering committee under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced Lee's appointment. Over the last 20 years, Lee has been a panelist on TV shows, university lecturer, and CEO of a company. He also hosts "Upgrade Korea" on KTV. During the last presidential election campaign, Lee served as a special advisor on the Grand Canal Project for President Lee Myung-bak.

Lee Cham speaks during a lecture entitled "History Meets Future" marking the 60th anniversary of Korea's founding last year. /Yonhap

Lee came to Korea for a seminar on religion in 1978 and decided to settle here. He became a Korean citizen in 1986 and is the progenitor of "German Lee" clan. His first Korea name was Lee Han-woo, but he changed it to Cham in 2001. He married a Korean woman in 1982 and they have one son and one daughter.