Former nuclear envoy named new ambassador to Russia

President Yoon Suk Yeol tapped Lee Do-hoon, a former second vice foreign minister, as South Korea's new ambassador to Russia, the presidential office announced Wednesday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, presents new Korean Ambassador to Russia Lee Do-hoon with a letter of credence at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Wednesday afternoon. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol tapped Lee Do-hoon, a former second vice foreign minister, as South Korea's new ambassador to Russia, the presidential office announced Wednesday.

Lee served as a former presidential secretary for foreign affairs in the Park Geun-hye administration and later as a special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, doubling as Seoul's top nuclear envoy, in the Moon Jae-in administration.

He will succeed Chang Ho-jin, the former top diplomat to Moscow, who was appointed first vice foreign minister in a surprise reshuffle of the presidential security and foreign affairs team in April.

Lee Do-hoon

Lee, a career diplomat, entered the foreign service in 1985 and worked in overseas missions including in Zambia, Tunisia, Iran and at the United Nations. He is an expert in Pyongyang affairs, having also served as director-general of the Foreign Ministry's North Korean Nuclear Affairs Bureau, and also served as an ambassador to Serbia.

Lee retired from the diplomatic service in December 2020 but joined the presidential campaign for Yoon and made a comeback as a second vice foreign minister in charge of multilateral and economic diplomacy with the launch of the new administration in May 2022.

He is a graduate of Yonsei University, majoring in economics, and received a master's degree in war studies from King's College London.

Lee will take on the Moscow post during a delicate period as President Yoon has been vocal in joining with the international community in coming down on Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

In July, Yoon made a surprise trip to Ukraine during a visit to Poland and promised a comprehensive package of security, humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to the war-torn country, or the so-called "Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative," in a bilateral summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, he stopped short of promising lethal aid.

Lee will likely be tasked with managing South Korea-Russia relations as South Korean officials and Korean businesses in Russia worry about fraying ties amid the ongoing war.

Later in the day, Yoon presented credentials in a ceremony at the presidential office to five new ambassadors including Lee and new Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young-sam, a former deputy foreign minister. The others were the ambassadors to the Czech Republic, Pakistan and Chile.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]