DAPA chief tapped as justice minister

The Korea Herald · Hwang Joo-young · 2026-11-06 07:14 UTC

Lee Yong-cheol, the current head of South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, was nominated as justice minister Friday, marking his second

Lee Yong-cheol, the current head of South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, was nominated as justice minister Friday, marking his second appointment to a senior government post under President Lee Jae Myung.

Born in June 1960 in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, the 66-year-old nominee graduated from Yonsei University with a law degree in 1982 and passed the national bar examination in 1989.

Lee's ties to the presidential office date back to the Roh Moo-hyun administration, a previous Democratic Party-led government, when he served as presidential secretary for civil affairs II and later as presidential secretary for legal affairs, beginning in 2003.

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