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Commissioner

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Welcome to the website of the Overseas Koreans Agency.

I'm LEE Key Cheol, commissioner of the Overseas Koreans Agency.

The Overseas Koreans Agency establishes an environment where the overseas Korean community and the Republic of Korea can develop mutually and contribute to human prosperity and world peace.

Through the affinity shared between Koreans and overseas Koreans, we will always strive to openly communicate with overseas Koreans.

All staff members of the Overseas Koreans Agency and I will carefully listen to your suggestions and actively incorporate them into policy decisions and systems improvement.

Thank you.

LEE Key Cheol

commissioner

Education

  • Feb. 1984 LL.B., Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
  • May 1989 M.A. in Public Administration, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, U.S.A.

Career

  • May 1985 Passed High Diplomatic Service Examination
  • Jun. 1985 Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
  • Jan. 1991 Second Secretary, Korean Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • Dec. 1993 First Secretary, Korean Embassy in Libya
  • Dec. 1998 First Secretary, Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, NY, U.S.A.
  • Jun. 2001 Counsellor, Korean Embassy in the State of Israel
  • Dec. 2002 Director, Inter-Korean Policy Division, Office of Policy Planning and International Organization, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT)
  • Jun. 2004 Counsellor, Korean Embassy in the Republic of Austria and Permanent Mission to the International Organization in Vienna
  • Sep. 2006 Secondment to the United Nations Project Office on Governance (UNPOG)
  • Aug. 2007 Deputy Director-General for Consular Affairs, Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Bureau, MOFAT
  • Apr. 2008 Deputy Director-General, African and Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau, MOFAT
  • Jul. 2008 Deputy Director-General, Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Bureau, MOFAT
  • Dec. 2009 Director-General for Treaties, MOFAT
  • Mar. 2010 Director-General for International Legal Affairs, MOFAT
  • Aug. 2011 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
  • Nov. 2014 Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Mar. 2015 Ambassador for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
  • Apr. 2016 Consul-General, Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
  • May 2018 Adjunct professor. Korea National Diplomatic Academy
  • May 2018 Executive Director, Korean Committee for UNICEF
  • Jun. 2023 Commissioner of the Overseas Koreans Agency

AWARDS

  • Dec. 1995 Best Diplomat of the Year Award
  • Dec. 1997 Service Merit Medal
  • Dec. 2007 Foreign Minister’s Award
  • Mar. 2009 Diplomat of the Year Award
  • Jan. 2015 Civil Servant of the Year Award
  • Nov. 2017 2017 Best Diplomat Award
  • May. 2018 Red Stripes Order of Service Merit