소진광은 충남 부여군에서 태어나 서울대학교 환경대학원에서 도시계획학 석사와 행정학 박사 학위를 받았다. 내부무 지방행정연수원 교수를 거쳐 1990년 경원대학교(현 가천대학교)로 옮겨와 현재 행정학과 명예교수로 재직하고 있다. 경원대학교 법정대학장, 사회정책대학원장을 역임하였고, 가천대학교로 통합한 이후 대외부총장을 지냈다. 한국행정학회 부회장, 한국지역개발학회 제14대 회장, 한국지방자치학회 제11대 회장을 역임하고, 한국정부 및 국제기구에서 많은 자문활동을 하였다. 20여 년간 한국의 대외 원조사업에 관여하여 개발도상국에 대한 원조사업의 평가업무 및 타당성 업무를 수행하였다. 특히 새마을운동중앙회 제23대 회장을 역임하면서 ‘새마을운동지구촌연맹(SGL, Saemaul Undong Global League)’을 결성하였고 현재 46개 회원국이 이 기구에 속해 있다.

Jin Kwang So was born in Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. He received a master's degree in urban planning and a doctorate in public administration from Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environment. After working as a professor at the Local Administration Training Institute, he moved to Kyungwon University (currently Gachon University) in 1990 and is currently serving as an emeritus professor in the Department of Public Administration. He served as the dean of the School of Law at Kyungwon University and the dean of the Graduate School of Social Policy. He served as the vice president of the Korean Association for Public Administration, the 14th president of the Korean Regional Development Association, and the 11th president of the Korean Association for Local Government Studies, and served as a consultant to the Korean government and international organizations. He has been involved in Korea's foreign aid projects for over 20 years, and has performed evaluation and feasibility work on aid projects for developing countries. In particular, while serving as the 23rd president of the Korea Saemaul Undong Center, he formed the Saemaul Undong Global League (SGL), which currently has 46 member states.