Secretary-General LEE Jong-heon is a man of curiosity and has maintained strong enthusiasm and aspiration for the peace, stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia for a considerable time, which led him to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988 at a rather late age after he graduated from the College of Law at the Seoul National University in 1982.

In 2003 he was designated as a member of the Presidential Transition Committee for Foreign and Security Affairs. One of the three important strategic goals pursued by the ROH Mu-hyun Administration was the establishment of Peace and Prosperity in Northeast Asia. He served as Senior Director of the National Security Council (Strategic Planning Department) and as well as at the Office of the President (Protocol). He had also been posted as a senior diplomat to various continents including Europe, North America, South America and Africa while keeping an interest in regional cooperation and integration widely from a global perspective. His current focus is to institutionalize the existing Trilateral Cooperation among the three countries in a more efficient and productive way as well as to strengthen inter-connectivity between the regions including Asia and Europe.

From 2013 to 2017, Mr. LEE served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) and became Secretary-General of the TCS in September 2017.