• Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea
    Han Duck-soo

    A master of statesmanship with a history of serving in various high government positions, the first Prime Minister to have his impeachment proposal passed [2024]

    Last Updated on Apr 23, 2024

      Copy Url : https://www.koreawho.com/profile/HanDucksoo

Life Summary
Han Duck-Soo is the Prime Minister. Following the April 10th elections, he expressed his resignation to facilitate a reshuffle of the government, but he is currently assisting President Yoon Suk-yeol to prevent a policy vacuum until the appointment of a new Prime Minister.

Several candidates are being considered for the position of the next Prime Minister, but there is also speculation that Han Duck-Soo may be retained.

He was born on June 18, 1949, in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do.

He graduated from Kyunggi High School and Seoul National University's College of Business Administration (majoring in Economics). He obtained master's and doctoral degrees in Economics from Harvard University in the United States.

In his third year of college, he passed the 8th Administrative Examination and entered public service.

He primarily held positions related to international economic cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce, served as Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade during the Kim Dae-jung administration, and as Economic Senior Secretary at the Blue House.

He briefly left public office after being dismissed from his position as Economic Senior Secretary due to the 'Korea-China Garlic Negotiation' controversy, which involved swapping import regulations on Chinese mobile phones and Korean garlic.

Under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he returned to public service as Director of the State Council Office and concurrently served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy. He led the negotiations for the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as Chairman of the Korea-US FTA Negotiation Support Committee before being appointed as Prime Minister.

During the Lee Myung-bak administration, he served as Ambassador to the United States, and during the Park Geun-hye administration, he served as Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

As a career bureaucrat on the elite track, Han Duck-Soo is known for his meticulous yet amicable personality. He is praised for his rational approach to handling affairs.