[Profile] Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor Nominee... Labor Relations Expert from KCTU Background

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] Lee Jeongsik, former Secretary General of the Korea Labor-Management Development Foundation, who was nominated on the 14th as the first Minister of Employment and Labor under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, is a labor expert who previously served as Secretary General of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU).

Born in 1961 in Jecheon, Chungbuk, Lee graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Economics. Since 1986, he has been active in the FKTU, serving as Director of the Planning and Coordination Bureau, Director of the Policy Planning Bureau, and eventually rising to Secretary General.

Lee also served in public office as a policy advisor to the Minister of Construction and Transportation from 2004 to 2006. Afterward, he returned to the FKTU in 2011, holding positions such as Head of the Policy Headquarters and Director of the Central Research Institute.

He has also served as a specialist member of the Labor-Management Relations Reform Committee during its 1st and 2nd terms, and as a specialist member of the Tripartite Commission during its 1st to 3rd terms. He is regarded as an expert who approaches labor-management relations rationally.

Additionally, Lee served as Secretary General of the Korea Labor-Management Development Foundation from 2017 to 2020. Since the foundation's establishment, he is the first Secretary General to come from the labor sector.

▲ Jecheon, Chungbuk (born 1961) ▲ Bachelor of Economics, Seoul National University ▲ Director of Planning and Coordination Bureau, FKTU ▲ Director of Policy Planning Bureau, FKTU ▲ Policy Advisor to Minister of Construction and Transportation ▲ Researcher, Minimum Wage Commission ▲ Specialist Member, Labor-Management Relations Reform Committee (1st-2nd terms) ▲ Specialist Member, Tripartite Commission (1st-3rd terms) ▲ Secretary General, FKTU ▲ Non-executive Director, Construction Workers’ Mutual Aid Association ▲ Secretary General, Korea Labor-Management Development Foundation ▲ Advisory Member, Samsung Electronics