New Correction Headquarters Chief Yoo Byung-cheol, Seoul Detention Center Director and Administrative Examination Graduate... Correction Administration Expert with a 'Doctorate' Degree

Yoo Byung-cheol, newly appointed head of the Correctional Headquarters at the Ministry of Justice as of July 1, and director of Seoul Detention Center. / Photo by Ministry of Justice

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Yoo Byung-cheol, the director of Seoul Detention Center (age 57), has been appointed as the new head of the Correction Headquarters at the Ministry of Justice.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Justice announced that Yoo will be appointed as the head of the Correction Headquarters effective from the 1st of next month.

Yoo, a graduate of Busan High School and Dongguk University’s Department of Law, passed the 37th Administrative Examination in 1994. After passing the exam, he earned a master's degree in Public Security Administration from Yonsei University in 1997 and a doctorate in Criminal Justice from the University of Leeds in the UK in 2008, known as a scholar dedicated to academics.

Yoo has held key positions within the Correction Headquarters, including Director of the Correction Policy Division, Warden of Gwangju Prison (2011), Director of Seoul Southern Detention Center (2015), Director of the Correction Policy Division at the Ministry of Justice (2016), Director of Daejeon Regional Correctional Office (2018), and Director of Seoul Regional Correctional Office (2019). He is currently serving as the director of Seoul Detention Center.

The Ministry of Justice stated, "We expect the new head of the Correction Headquarters to greatly contribute to establishing public safety and realizing human rights values in correctional administration based on his extensive field experience and expertise in correctional policy."