Lee Tae-sik

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Tae-sik (born 26 October 1945) is a South Korean diplomat.

Lee Tae-sik
Lee in November 2005
South Korean Ambassador to the United States
In office November 10, 2005 – March 2009
President	Roh Moo-hyun Lee Myung-bak
Preceded by	Hong Seok-hyun
Succeeded by	Han Duck-soo
South Korean Ambassador to Israel
In office July 2000 – February 2002
President	Kim Dae-jung
Personal details
Born	(1945-10-26) October 26, 1945 (age 79) Seorabeol, Southern Korea (now Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea)
Alma mater	Seoul National University (1970)
Occupation	Diplomat
Korean name
Hangul	이태식
Hanja	李泰植
RR	I Taesik
MR	I T'aesik

Early life and education

Lee was born in North Gyeongsang Province and graduated from Seoul National University's Department of International Relations in 1970.

Career

U.S. President George W. Bush welcomes Lee to the Oval Office at the White House after his appointment as ambassador.

Lee then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and was employed as first secretary in the South Korean embassy in Washington, D.C. from 1981 to 1984. He later went on to pursue a higher degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, graduating in 1988. His first ambassadorial-rank posting was to Israel, from July 2000 to February 2002. He returned to South Korea to serve as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs until the following year when he became ambassador to the United Kingdom. In 2005 he had a brief stint back in Seoul as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, before being named as South Korea's ambassador to the U.S. in October 2005.^[1] He served in that position until March 2009, when he was replaced by Han Duck-soo.^[2]