KOREA WHO
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Director of National Security and Standing Chairman of the National Security Council
Wi Sung-lac
Hardline Diplomatic Advisor, Expert on North Korea, U.S., Russia
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Last Updated on Jun 27, 2025
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Director of National Security and Standing Chairman of the National Security Council
Life Summary
Wi Sung-lac is the first Director of National Security and Standing Chairman of the National Security Council (NSC) under the Lee Jae-myung administration.
He was born on September 14, 1954 (lunar calendar) in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province.
He graduated from Namseong High School in North Jeolla Province and earned his bachelor’s degree in diplomacy from Seoul National University.
He received a master’s degree in diplomacy from the graduate school of Seoul National University and later earned a Ph.D. in international politics from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) under the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Wi entered public service in 1979 by passing the 13th Foreign Service Examination. He served as First Secretary at the Permanent Mission to Geneva and the Embassy in Russia, and also headed the Eastern European Affairs Division.
Under the administration of President Kim Young-sam, he served as an administrator at the Office of the Senior Presidential Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security. He later became Counselor at the Embassy in the United States, Director-General for North American Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Policy Coordinator at the NSC's Policy Coordination Office.
After serving as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy in Washington in 2004, he was appointed in 2009 as head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau and Chief Negotiator for the Six-Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue.
He retired from public service in 2011 after serving as Ambassador to Russia and then became a visiting professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University.
He served as Chair of the Practical Diplomacy Committee in the Democratic Party of Korea’s 20th Presidential Election Campaign Committee, and Secretary-General of the Korea Peace Foundation.
He was elected to the 22nd National Assembly as a proportional representative of the Democratic Party of Korea and served on the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Intelligence Committee.
During the 21st presidential election, he oversaw the “practical diplomacy” strategy as a senior foreign affairs and security advisor to candidate Lee Jae-myung.
In June 2025, he was appointed as the first Director of National Security (ministerial level) and Standing Chairman of the National Security Council (NSC) under President Lee’s administration.
Wi is regarded as President Lee Jae-myung’s chief strategist on foreign policy and national security. He is widely recognized as an expert on North Korea, the U.S., and Russia.
He is known as a calm and cautious strategist, who firmly pushes forward once he sets a principle, with conviction and resolve.
#WiSunglac #LeeJaemyung #nationalsecurity #NSC #SouthKorea #diplomacy #foreignpolicy #NorthKorea #SixPartyTalks #Russiaexpert
He was born on September 14, 1954 (lunar calendar) in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province.
He graduated from Namseong High School in North Jeolla Province and earned his bachelor’s degree in diplomacy from Seoul National University.
He received a master’s degree in diplomacy from the graduate school of Seoul National University and later earned a Ph.D. in international politics from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) under the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Wi entered public service in 1979 by passing the 13th Foreign Service Examination. He served as First Secretary at the Permanent Mission to Geneva and the Embassy in Russia, and also headed the Eastern European Affairs Division.
Under the administration of President Kim Young-sam, he served as an administrator at the Office of the Senior Presidential Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security. He later became Counselor at the Embassy in the United States, Director-General for North American Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Policy Coordinator at the NSC's Policy Coordination Office.
After serving as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy in Washington in 2004, he was appointed in 2009 as head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau and Chief Negotiator for the Six-Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue.
He retired from public service in 2011 after serving as Ambassador to Russia and then became a visiting professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University.
He served as Chair of the Practical Diplomacy Committee in the Democratic Party of Korea’s 20th Presidential Election Campaign Committee, and Secretary-General of the Korea Peace Foundation.
He was elected to the 22nd National Assembly as a proportional representative of the Democratic Party of Korea and served on the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Intelligence Committee.
During the 21st presidential election, he oversaw the “practical diplomacy” strategy as a senior foreign affairs and security advisor to candidate Lee Jae-myung.
In June 2025, he was appointed as the first Director of National Security (ministerial level) and Standing Chairman of the National Security Council (NSC) under President Lee’s administration.
Wi is regarded as President Lee Jae-myung’s chief strategist on foreign policy and national security. He is widely recognized as an expert on North Korea, the U.S., and Russia.
He is known as a calm and cautious strategist, who firmly pushes forward once he sets a principle, with conviction and resolve.
#WiSunglac #LeeJaemyung #nationalsecurity #NSC #SouthKorea #diplomacy #foreignpolicy #NorthKorea #SixPartyTalks #Russiaexpert