Ambassador Lee holds a BA in International Relations from Seoul National University and an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago.
He joined the Korean Foreign Ministry in 1993 and has held foreign postings that include serving at the Korean embassies in the Netherlands (2004-2006) and Ghana (2011), at the Korean Permanent Mission to the UN in New York (2009-2010) and as Deputy Consul-General at the Korean Consulate General in Chicago (2014-2017). A career diplomat, he’s also held various foreign ministry posts, including Desk Officer for Negotiations on North Korean Denuclearization (2007), Advisor to the 1st Vice Minister (2008), Director of the Climate Change and Global Green Growth Division (2012-2013), Deputy Representative for Korea-U.S. Defence Burden-sharing (2017-2019) and Deputy Spokesperson (2019-2021).
Ambassador Lee, a married father of two sons, earned his Order of Service Merit (Green Stripes) in 2013.