The Office of National Security () assists the

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...

. It is led by a ministerial-level Director who is appointed by the President without nomination hearing at the legislature unlike other ministerial-level posts. Director often serves as the counterpart of National Security Advisor of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Moreover, Director serves as the chairperson of the standing committee of National Security Council, which is established by Article 91 of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and chaired by the President, whilst its first Deputy Director serves as the Council's secretary-general.

History

Similar organisation was established during

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (; ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

administration but was abolished by Roh's successor, Lee Myung-bak. In 2013 the following

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

administration established the Office to revive the organisation which oversees national security affairs and supports National Security Council. President

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...

restructured the Office and expanded its functions. Under President Moon, the first deputy dealt with security affairs whilst its second deputy foreign affairs and Inter-Korean relations. Under Moon's successor,

Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor ...

, deputies' roles have been reversed.

References

Government agencies of South Korea {{SouthKorea-stub