KOREA WHO
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Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea
Cho Hyun
Lee’s First Foreign Minister Forged in Trade Talks
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Last Updated on Jun 17, 2026
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Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea
Life Summary
Cho Hyun is the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Lee Jae Myung administration.
He is working to implement the Lee Jae Myung government's policy of “pragmatic diplomacy” in response to trade and security pressure from the Trump administration in the United States.
He was born on November 30, 1957, in Gimje, North Jeolla Province.
He graduated from Jeonju High School and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Yonsei University. He earned a master's degree in international relations from Columbia University in the United States and a master's degree in international politics from Sciences Po in Paris, France. He received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Toulouse in France.
He passed the Foreign Service Examination in 1979 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He served as Director-General for Deliberation at the Multilateral Trade Bureau, Director-General of the International Economic Affairs Bureau, and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He later served as Ambassador for Energy and Resources, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs, Ambassador to Austria, Ambassador to India, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He left public service after completing his term as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Korea to the United Nations in 2022, but returned as Minister of Foreign Affairs when the Lee Jae Myung administration was launched in 2025.
#ChoHyun #ForeignMinister #LeeJaeMyung #SouthKoreaDiplomacy #PragmaticDiplomacy #MinistryOfForeignAffairs #UNAmbassador #KoreaUSRelations #InternationalRelations #KoreanGovernment
He is working to implement the Lee Jae Myung government's policy of “pragmatic diplomacy” in response to trade and security pressure from the Trump administration in the United States.
He was born on November 30, 1957, in Gimje, North Jeolla Province.
He graduated from Jeonju High School and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Yonsei University. He earned a master's degree in international relations from Columbia University in the United States and a master's degree in international politics from Sciences Po in Paris, France. He received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Toulouse in France.
He passed the Foreign Service Examination in 1979 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He served as Director-General for Deliberation at the Multilateral Trade Bureau, Director-General of the International Economic Affairs Bureau, and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He later served as Ambassador for Energy and Resources, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs, Ambassador to Austria, Ambassador to India, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He left public service after completing his term as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Korea to the United Nations in 2022, but returned as Minister of Foreign Affairs when the Lee Jae Myung administration was launched in 2025.
#ChoHyun #ForeignMinister #LeeJaeMyung #SouthKoreaDiplomacy #PragmaticDiplomacy #MinistryOfForeignAffairs #UNAmbassador #KoreaUSRelations #InternationalRelations #KoreanGovernment