[Asia Economy Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu] Park Min-sik (57, photo), the nominee for the head of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, is a member of a 'patriotic family.' His late father, Lieutenant Colonel Park Soon-yu, died in the Vietnam War and was buried at the National Cemetery. Park, who was seven years old at the time, along with his five siblings, was raised by their widowed mother.
Park, who will be recorded as the first former lawmaker to serve as the head of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, passed the Foreign Service Exam in 1988 while studying at Seoul National University’s Department of Diplomacy and worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1993, he passed the Bar Exam and served as a prosecutor from 1996. During his 11 years as a prosecutor, he was recognized for his aggressive investigative skills, earning the nickname 'Bulldozer Prosecutor,' notably serving as the lead prosecutor in the National Intelligence Service wiretapping case, directly investigating former NIS chiefs Shin Geon and Lim Dong-won.
In 2008, he won the nomination for the Busan Buk-gu and Gangseo-gu Gap district, defeating veteran three-term incumbent lawmaker Jeong Hyeong-geun of the Grand National Party, and became a member of the 18th National Assembly. He was re-elected to the 19th National Assembly in 2012. From 2015 to 2018, he served as chairman of the Choi Dong-won Memorial Foundation, honoring the late Choi Dong-won, a former pitcher for the Lotte Giants professional baseball team.
Recently, he announced his intention to run in the Bundang Gap by-election but withdrew following the strategic nomination by former presidential transition committee chairman Ahn Cheol-soo. During his time as a lawmaker, he served as the ruling party’s secretary on the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. He was the planning director for Yoon Seok-youl’s presidential primary campaign and was appointed as a special advisor to the president-elect on March 24, after Yoon’s election.
▲ Busan (57) ▲ Seoul National University, Department of Diplomacy ▲ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Economic Bureau Officer ▲ Seoul District Prosecutor ▲ 18th and 19th National Assembly Member (Busan Buk-gu and Gangseo-gu Gap, Grand National Party/Saenuri Party) ▲ Chairman of the Choi Dong-won Memorial Foundation ▲ Lawyer at A-One Law Firm ▲ Special Advisor to President-elect Yoon Seok-youl
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