KOREA WHO
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Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs
Bong Wook
Legal Strategist With Prosecutorial Roots Shapes Reform Agenda
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Last Updated on Aug 14, 2025
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Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs
Life Summary
Bong Wook is the Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs in the Lee Jae-myung administration.
He is regarded as a leading prosecutor known as a “planning expert,” combining expertise in policy planning, investigations, and legal administration.
He was born on July 24, 1965, in Seoul.
He graduated from Yeouido High School and the College of Law at Seoul National University, and completed graduate studies at the same institution.
After passing the 29th bar exam and completing the 19th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he began his career as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office (now the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office). He later served in the Prosecutors’ Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Justice; as chief of the Advanced Crime Investigation Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office; as director of the Innovation Planning Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office; as chief of the First Financial and Tax Investigation Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office; as Director of Public Security Planning at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office; and as Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice. Through these roles, he gained experience not only in investigation and planning but also in legal administration.
After his promotion to Chief Prosecutor, he went on to serve as Director of the Planning and Coordination Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, and later as head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office. In 2017, during the Moon Jae-in administration, he was appointed Deputy Prosecutor General at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. At that time, when the Prosecutor General’s position was vacant, he served as Acting Prosecutor General, earning recognition for his leadership.
In 2019, he was considered a candidate for Prosecutor General along with Yoon Suk-yeol, who was four years his junior in the prosecutorial cohort. When Yoon was nominated, Bong left the prosecution and began working as a lawyer. In March 2021, he was also recommended for appointment to the Supreme Court.
In June 2025, he was appointed Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs in the Lee Jae-myung administration.
He had previously worked in the Office of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs during the Kim Dae-jung administration, and thus returned to the same post after 25 years to work in close support of the president.
Within the prosecution, Bong was regarded as an “elite prosecutor” who had held key posts across the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. With his deep understanding of the prosecutorial organization and his wealth of ideas, he has been seen as especially well-suited to reforming and improving prosecutorial practices and systems.
He is regarded as a leading prosecutor known as a “planning expert,” combining expertise in policy planning, investigations, and legal administration.
He was born on July 24, 1965, in Seoul.
He graduated from Yeouido High School and the College of Law at Seoul National University, and completed graduate studies at the same institution.
After passing the 29th bar exam and completing the 19th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he began his career as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office (now the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office). He later served in the Prosecutors’ Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Justice; as chief of the Advanced Crime Investigation Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office; as director of the Innovation Planning Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office; as chief of the First Financial and Tax Investigation Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office; as Director of Public Security Planning at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office; and as Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice. Through these roles, he gained experience not only in investigation and planning but also in legal administration.
After his promotion to Chief Prosecutor, he went on to serve as Director of the Planning and Coordination Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, and later as head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office. In 2017, during the Moon Jae-in administration, he was appointed Deputy Prosecutor General at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. At that time, when the Prosecutor General’s position was vacant, he served as Acting Prosecutor General, earning recognition for his leadership.
In 2019, he was considered a candidate for Prosecutor General along with Yoon Suk-yeol, who was four years his junior in the prosecutorial cohort. When Yoon was nominated, Bong left the prosecution and began working as a lawyer. In March 2021, he was also recommended for appointment to the Supreme Court.
In June 2025, he was appointed Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs in the Lee Jae-myung administration.
He had previously worked in the Office of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs during the Kim Dae-jung administration, and thus returned to the same post after 25 years to work in close support of the president.
Within the prosecution, Bong was regarded as an “elite prosecutor” who had held key posts across the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. With his deep understanding of the prosecutorial organization and his wealth of ideas, he has been seen as especially well-suited to reforming and improving prosecutorial practices and systems.