Byung-se YUN was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea from March 2013 until June 2017 (longest serving Foreign Minister after 1981). Before that, he also served as Deputy National Security Adviser (Senior Secretary) to the President in charge of Korea’s foreign, defense and unification policy and as Senior Coordinator at the National Security Council of the Presidential Office.
As a career diplomat with 37 year-long experience, his foreign service includes postings in the U.S., the United Nations (both New York and Geneva), Singapore and Australia. At home, he was Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade during the time of Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon.
He graduated from Seoul National University's College of Law and received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University's Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He was a Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) of Sogang University in Seoul from 2009 until early 2013.
He is currently Chairman of Seoul International Law Academy (SILA) and Chairman of NEAR Global Survey Project. He is also a board member of Korea Peace Foundation. He writes a regular column for the Korea JoongAng Daily and the Korea Times.