Former Director Lee Do-hoon, who was also appointed during the regime change

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Lee Do-hoon, former head of the Korea Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, has been appointed as the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of multilateral diplomacy under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Lee, who practically oversaw North Korea nuclear diplomacy during the Moon Jae-in administration, has now returned to the field after 1 year and 6 months.

Lee previously worked as a diplomatic secretary in the Office of the National Security Advisor during the Park Geun-hye administration before being appointed in September 2017 as the chief representative for North Korea nuclear talks and head of the Korea Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters under the Moon Jae-in administration. He worked at the forefront of the active North Korea-U.S. and inter-Korean dialogues from 2018 to 2019, striving for the success of the Moon administration’s Korea Peninsula peace process.

Although there were expectations that he would be appointed as an ambassador to a major country after his resignation in December 2020, he retired without receiving a new post and later made a surprise entry into the Yoon Suk-yeol campaign. As a result, he has built a rare career of continuous appointments across the Park Geun-hye, Moon Jae-in, and Yoon Suk-yeol administrations.

Lee, a graduate of the 19th Foreign Service Examination, recently served as head of the North Korea nuclear diplomacy planning team and then as head of the Korea Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, working in departments responsible for North Korea nuclear issues. Prior to that, he was known as a “UN expert,” having served as a section chief at the United Nations, minister-counselor at the Permanent Mission to the UN, and international organization cooperation officer. Due to this background, there were speculations that he might be appointed as ambassador to the UN, but he was assigned as the 2nd Vice Minister overseeing multilateral diplomacy at the headquarters. The increasingly important economic security affairs also fall under the jurisdiction of the 2nd Vice Minister. As one of the few diplomats with a background in economics, he is well known for his bold working style.

▲ Busan (60) ▲ Yonsei University, Department of Economics ▲ 19th Foreign Service Examination ▲ First Secretary at the Permanent Mission to the UN ▲ Section Chief at the United Nations ▲ Minister-Counselor in Iran ▲ International Organization Cooperation Officer ▲ Head of North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Team ▲ Ambassador to Serbia ▲ Diplomatic Secretary in the Presidential Secretariat ▲ Head of the Korea Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters

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