Song Sang-kyo (송상교) has become the Chairperson of TRC 3; he previously served as Secretary General (사무처장) of TRC 2.
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The Hankyoreh Article:
“First Step Toward Normalizing the Truth Commission”… Expectations Rise Over Nomination of Song Sang-gyo as 3rd Chair.”
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Thank you to a Paperslip Contributor for the news item referral.
Please see original article for photos.
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“First Step Toward Normalizing the Truth Commission”… Expectations Rise Over Nomination of Song Sang-gyo as 3rd Chair
Appointed by President Lee… A leading figure who resisted the ‘Park Sun-young leadership,’ which defended martial law
By Jang Jong-woo
Revised: 2026-03-02 16:25 | Published: 2026-03-02 16:06
Song Sang-gyo, newly appointed Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Reporter Ryu Woo-jong (wjryu@hani.co.kr)
On the 2nd, President Lee Jae-myung appointed former Secretary-General Song Sang-gyo as Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The nomination comes just five days after the launch of the Commission’s third term on February 26.
Song’s appointment as chair is being seen as a first step toward normalizing the TRC. Having served as Secretary-General during the Commission’s second term for about five years, Song was known as a leading figure who resisted the “Park Sun-young leadership,” which stirred controversy. Former Chair Park drew criticism for responding “I don’t know whether it’s true” regarding claims of North Korean military involvement in the May 18 Gwangju Uprising and for posting Facebook messages defending the December 3 state of emergency (martial law).
Immediately after the December 3 emergency declaration, when former President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Park Sun-young as chair, Song submitted his resignation in protest but withdrew it a week later. At the time, more than 20 internal staff members posted messages on the TRC bulletin board within a day of his resignation announcement, urging him to remain and “fight the injustice.” Song’s decision to withdraw his resignation became a catalyst for TRC employees to form a labor union—following the existing public officials’ workplace council—and to raise their voices against what they described as the unfairness of Park’s leadership. After concluding its activities, the union also published a white paper titled Five Years of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The Record and the Road Ahead.
Previously, Song served as advisory attorney to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, a member of the Ministry of Justice’s Prosecutorial Past Affairs Committee, Secretary-General of Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun), a human rights committee member of the Korean Bar Association, and a member of the Alternative Service Review Committee. He also represented clients in major historical injustice cases, including the fabrication of Kang Ki-hoon’s “suicide note proxy writing” case and espionage fabrication cases involving Korean residents in Japan.
On the same day, the April 9 Unification and Peace Foundation and the Catholic Human Rights Committee issued a joint statement welcoming Song’s appointment. They stated, “We are relieved that by appointing attorney Song Sang-gyo as chair, efforts to address historical injustices can continue without interruption.” However, they added, “While the appointment should be expedited, there must absolutely be no repetition of the first and second terms of the TRC, in which individuals who failed to fully grasp the lessons of history or who lacked qualifications filled the Commission during its third term.”
장종우 기자 whddn3871@hani.co.kr
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*Paperslip Note:
The final TRC 2 Chairperson / Chairwoman (there were prior chairpersons of TRC 2) was Park Sun-young, a deeply conservative appointee of the impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol — a decision that was controversial from the outset. Many victims involved in the TRC 2 process, including but not limited to Korean Adoptees, called for the establishment of a third commission (TRC 3) under new, more progressive leadership — one that would prioritize the voices and needs of those affected by human rights abuses. For more information, please see: OhMyNews Article About Conservative TRC Chairperson Park Sun-Young.
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Yonhap News Article:
”[Profile] Song Sang-kyo, Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission… Lawyer Specializing in Past Affairs and Human Rights.”
Translation via ChatGPT.
Thank you to a Paperslip Contributor for the link.
Please see original article for photos.
BOLDS and Blue highlighting ours.
“[Profile] Song Sang-kyo, Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission… Lawyer Specializing in Past Affairs and Human Rights
Published March 2, 2026, 16:45
By Lee Seung-yeon
(Seoul = Yonhap News) — On the 2nd (of March, 2026), Song Sang-kyo (54, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 34), former Secretary-General of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, was nominated as Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is a legal professional who has devoted himself to cases involving historical injustices and human rights.
A graduate of Choongam High School and Seoul National University College of Law, Song passed the 44th National Bar Examination in 2002 and completed his training at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Since then, he has worked as an attorney, handling numerous cases related to past state abuses and human rights.
One representative case is the Kang Gi-hoon forged suicide note case, in which Kang was acquitted in a retrial in 2015, 24 years after his conviction. In 1991, the late Kim Gi-seol set himself on fire while calling for the resignation of the Roh Tae-woo administration. Prosecutors charged his colleague, Kang Gi-hoon, with aiding and abetting suicide by allegedly writing the suicide note on Kim’s behalf. The case was dubbed “Korea’s Dreyfus Affair.” Kang was sentenced to three years in prison in 1992, served his full term, and was ultimately acquitted in a 2015 retrial.
In addition, Song has worked to uncover the truth in cases including fabricated espionage charges against Korean residents in Japan, lawsuits seeking state compensation for illegal arrests by police, and compensation claims related to the military’s failure to notify families of service members’ deaths.
He has built diverse experience across several institutions and organizations, including the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and the Korean Bar Association.
From 2006 to 2007, he served as a member of the Mental Disability Human Rights Expert Committee at the National Human Rights Commission. In 2017, he served on the Ministry of Justice’s Prosecutorial Past Affairs Committee. In 2018, he became Secretary-General of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and the following year served as a Human Rights Committee member of the Korean Bar Association.
In 2021, Song was appointed Secretary-General of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, overseeing the practical work of investigating historical injustices. However, following the December 3, 2024 emergency martial law situation, when former President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed former lawmaker Park Sun-young as the new Chairperson of the Commission, Song resigned from his post in protest.
At the time, he posted on the Commission’s internal network that “an appointment approved by a president subject to impeachment lacks legitimacy,” adding that “the appointment of the new chairperson is unjust and cannot be accepted.”
“Profile
▲ Born in Seoul (54)
▲ Choongam High School, Seoul
▲ Seoul National University, Department of Public Law
▲ 44th National Bar Examination
▲ 34th class, Judicial Research and Training Institute
▲ Member, Mental Disability Human Rights Expert Committee, National Human Rights Commission of Korea
▲ Member, Prosecutorial Past Affairs Committee, Ministry of Justice
▲ Secretary-General, Lawyers for a Democratic Society
▲ Human Rights Committee Member, Korean Bar Association
▲ Secretary-General, Truth and Reconciliation Commission”
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*Paperslip Note:
The final TRC 2 Chairperson / Chairwoman (there were prior chairpersons of TRC 2) was Park Sun-young, a deeply conservative appointee of the impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol — a decision that was controversial from the outset. Many victims involved in the TRC 2 process, including but not limited to Korean Adoptees, called for the establishment of a third commission (TRC 3) under new, more progressive leadership — one that would prioritize the voices and needs of those affected by human rights abuses. For more information, please see: OhMyNews Article About Conservative TRC Chairperson Park Sun-Young.
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Law Times Article, published March 2nd, 2026:
“Appointment of Jung Il-yeon as Chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and Song Sang-kyo as Chair of the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”
Translation via ChatGPT.
Thank you to a Paperslip Contributor for the link.
Please see original article for photos.
BOLDS and Blue highlighting ours.
“Presidential Office
Appointment of Jung Il-yeon as Chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and Song Sang-kyo as Chair of the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission
By Jo Han-joo | March 2, 2026, 15:47
Nomination of Attorney Jeon Hyun-jung of LKB & Partners as Candidate for National Election Commission Member
From left: Attorneys Jung Il-yeon, Song Sang-kyo, and Jeon Hyun-jung. (Provided by the Presidential Office; captured from the LKB & Partners website.)
President Lee Jae-myung has appointed Jung Il-yeon (Judicial Research and Training Institute, 20th class), an attorney at Basis Law Firm, as the new Chair (ministerial rank) of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.
Lee Kyu-yeon, Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations and Communication, announced at a March 2 briefing that four ministerial-level political appointees, two heads of constitutionally independent bodies, and five members of presidential advisory commissions were nominated or appointed, including Chair Jung.
Regarding the new chair, the senior secretary stated, “He is the right person to swiftly normalize the Commission, resolve citizens’ grievances, and build a society free of corruption.”
Chair Jung graduated from Seongnam Pungsaeng High School and Konkuk University College of Law, and passed the 30th National Bar Examination in 1988. He served as a judge at the Cheongju District Court and as a presiding judge at the Jeonju District Court, Seoul Central District Court, and Seoul Eastern District Court. After serving as Chief Judge of the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Court in 2018, he left the judiciary and began practicing law. He has also served as a member of the Ministry of Justice’s Amnesty Review Committee and as a commissioner of the Press Arbitration Commission under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In response to a question about his past role as defense counsel for former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young in the Ssangbangwool remittance-to-North Korea case, the senior secretary said, “He served as a judge for 20 years, and there is no reason to believe he would compromise the independence and fairness required of the Commission chair. On the contrary, we judged that he possesses the competence, expertise, and integrity suited to the position.”
Former Secretary-General Song Sang-kyo (34th class) has been appointed as Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The senior secretary described him as “a figure who has worked to uncover state violence and human rights violations, and the right person to normalize the newly launched third-term Commission.”
Chair Song graduated from Choongam High School and Seoul National University College of Law. He has served as a Human Rights Committee member of the Korean Bar Association, Secretary-General of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and a member of the Ministry of Justice’s Prosecutorial Past Affairs Committee.
As candidates for membership on the National Election Commission, Attorney Jeon Hyun-jung (22nd class) of LKB & Partners and Professor Yoon Kwang-il of Sookmyung Women’s University were nominated. The senior secretary said of Jeon, “Having served more than 20 years as a judge, including as a presiding judge at the Seoul Central District Court, she is the right person to enhance trust in election administration, the foundation of democracy.”
Attorney Jeon graduated from Seongeun Girls’ High School in Jeonju and Seoul National University College of Law, and completed doctoral coursework in commercial law at Seoul National University’s graduate school. She served as a judge at the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court and at the Seoul High Court, as a research judge at the Supreme Court (Commercial Division), and as a presiding judge at the Cheongju District Court and the Seoul Central District Court, before beginning private practice in 2017.
In addition, Hwang Jong-woo, Chair of the International Cooperation Committee at the Maritime Cooperation Center, was nominated as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, and National Assembly member Park Hong-keun was nominated as Minister of Planning and Budget.
Personnel appointments to presidential advisory bodies were also announced. Namgoong Beom, advisor at S1; former lawmaker Park Yong-jin; and KAIST Professor Emeritus Lee Byung-tae were appointed vice chairs of the Regulatory Reform Committee. Kang Nam-eun, Professor Emeritus at Hanshin University, was appointed vice chair of the Basic Society Committee, and Kim Ok-joo, head professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine, was appointed chair of the National Bioethics Committee.”
Reporter Jo Han-joo
aweek@lawtimes.co.kr
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Older Yonhap News Article, about Song Sang-kyo (송상교), who is now Chair of TRC 3, and who was previously Secretary General of TRC 2, published April 30th, 2021:
”Former Minbyun Secretary-General Song Sang-kyo Appointed Secretary-General of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”
Translation via ChatGPT.
Thank you to a Paperslip Contributor for the link.
Please see original article for photos.
BOLDS and Blue highlighting ours.
“Former Minbyun Secretary-General Song Sang-kyo Appointed Secretary-General of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Published: April 30, 2021, 18:14
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Song Eun-kyung — Song Sang-kyo (송상교) (49), former Secretary-General of Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun), has been appointed Secretary-General of the second-term Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The Commission announced on the 30th that Song began his duties that day, approximately five months after the launch of the second-term Commission.
Song graduated from Seoul National University College of Law in 1996 and passed the 44th National Bar Examination. While practicing as an attorney, he served as:
Expert Member of the Mental Disability Human Rights Committee at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (2006–2008)
Member of the Prosecutorial Past Affairs Committee under the Ministry of Justice (2017)
Secretary-General of Lawyers for a Democratic Society (2018)
Human Rights Committee Member of the Korean Bar Association (2019)
Regarding his appointment, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission stated that “he possesses extensive expertise and experience in past historical issues and human rights overall. In particular, he has contributed to uncovering the truth in past human rights violation cases by representing clients in cases such as the fabricated suicide note case, the fabricated espionage cases involving Korean residents in Japan, lawsuits seeking state compensation for illegal police arrests, and state compensation cases involving failure to notify families of military deaths.”
As Secretary-General, Song will oversee investigations into truth-finding cases and administrative support within the Secretariat under the direction of the Commission Chair, and will supervise and direct Commission staff.”
norae@yna.co.kr