The Ministry of Justice said on the 23rd that it appointed Kang Jun-ha, 56, a professor in the Department of Law at Hongik University, as director general of the International Legal Affairs Bureau.
New International Legal Affairs Bureau Director General Kang Jun-ha graduated from the Department of Law at Korea University, earned an LL.M. from New York University in the United States and a J.S.D. from Indiana University in the United States, and has served as a professor in the Department of Law at Hongik University from 2007 to the present. At the school, Kang taught and researched international law courses, including international law, international economic law, and international investment law.
Kang also served as an administrative officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2005, a director for trade policy deliberation at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2016, president of the Korean Society of International Economic Law in 2022, and a trade commissioner at the Trade Commission of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources in 2023.
In addition, Kang served as a dispute panelist at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a conciliator at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank. An official at the Ministry of Justice said Kang "has extensive knowledge and experience in international civil and commercial matters."
The International Legal Affairs Bureau director general is an open position. In Aug. 2023, when former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon was serving as Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the International Legal Affairs Bureau was newly established. As the inaugural director general, Jeong Hong-sik, a professor at the School of Law at Chung-Ang University, was appointed in Feb. 2024. Former Director General Jeong contributed to securing an annulment decision in the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) case with U.S. private equity fund Lone Star, then retired in Jan. and returned to Chung-Ang University as a professor.