Star ballerina Kim Joo-won has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Korea National Ballet, filling the leadership that was left vacant after Kang Sue-jin stepped down in April following a 12-year tenure.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed the 49-year-old artist as the new artistic director of the state-run institute. Her term will end in August 2029.

Founded in 1962, the Korean National Ballet is the nation’s flagship ballet company. The ministry expressed expectations that Kim's appointment will help broaden the audience base for ballet and enhance the national troupe's international competitiveness.

"Kim is an artist who has grown alongside Korean ballet through her extensive experience as a principal dancer with the Korean National Ballet," Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young said.

"With her rich experience, academic credentials and arts administration expertise, she is the ideal person to lead the troupe's new leap forward."

Born in Busan in 1977, Kim graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Russia before joining the Korean National Ballet in 1998. She served as a principal dancer for 15 years until 2012, captivating audiences across classical and dramatic ballet repertoires.

In 2006, Kim won the Best Female Dancer award at the Benois de la Danse, often dubbed the Oscars of the dance world to become the second Korean female dancer to win the prestigious honor, following Kang in 1999.

After departing from the national troupe in 2012, Kim served as an associate professor in the Department of Dance Arts at Sungshin Women's University and actively popularized ballet through creative productions and television broadcasts.

More recently, she expanded her career as an arts administrator, taking on the roles of artistic director of the Ballet Festival Korea in 2024, as well as artistic director of the Busan Opera House Ballet Company.