Song Sang-kyo (송상교) has become the head of the TRC 3; he previously served as Secretary General (사무처장) of TRC 2.
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 (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