Life Summary
Shin Won-sik is the Director of the National Security Office.

He has been working to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance and enhance the joint defense posture to bolster deterrence against North Korea. He also closely monitors international developments affecting South Korea’s security, such as the Ukraine-Russia war and the Middle East crisis.

He was born on July 24, 1958, in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do.

Shin graduated from Dongseong High School in Busan and the Korea Military Academy. He earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Kyungnam University and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Kookmin University.

A graduate of the 37th class of the Korea Military Academy, Shin was a classmate of Park Ji-man, Chairman of EG Group and brother of former President Park Geun-hye. He is also a senior by three classes to former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. During his active duty, he specialized in defense policy and strategy.

Shin served as Deputy Chief Inspector for Combat Readiness at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Deputy Director of Defense Policy at the Ministry of National Defense, and was promoted to Major General, taking roles as the Commander of the 3rd Division and Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of National Defense. During the Lee Myung-bak administration, as the Director of Policy Planning, he participated in the second revision of the South Korea-U.S. Missile Guidelines (extending missile range).

He was promoted to Lieutenant General, serving as the Commander of the Capital Defense Command and Director of Operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, before retiring as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In the 20th National Assembly elections, he ran as a proportional representative candidate for the Saenuri Party (22nd on the list) but did not secure a seat.

Shin was one of the founding members of the Bareun Party and served as the Head of the Security Committee in Yoo Seung-min’s presidential campaign for the 19th presidential election, temporarily aligning himself with the “Yoo Seung-min faction.”

After rejoining the Liberty Korea Party, Shin became known for his strong conservative rhetoric at rallies against former President Moon Jae-in.

He was elected as a proportional representative in the 21st National Assembly under the Future Korea Party, an affiliated party of the United Future Party (currently the People Power Party). He served as the ruling party's secretary on the National Defense Committee and as the Chairman of Policy Coordination for the People Power Party.

Starting from the 2022 National Assembly audit, Shin raised the issue of the bust of General Hong Beom-do at the Korea Military Academy. He continued to play a leading role in the ensuing controversy over the removal and relocation of the statue, positioning himself as an aggressive spokesperson for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

Shin was appointed as Minister of National Defense in 2023 and moved to his current role as Director of the National Security Office in August 2024.

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