▲ Kang Chang-il, a senior vice chair of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (KUAC), is seen in this photo provided by Cheong Wa Dae on April 16, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

unification council-vice chair

Ex-ambassador to Japan appointed senior vice chair of unification council

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung has appointed Kang Chang-il, a former South Korean ambassador to Japan, as senior vice chair of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (KUAC), a senior aide said Thursday.

Kang, a four-term lawmaker who served as ambassador to Japan from 2021 to 2022, was tapped as the top working-level official of the council chaired by President Lee.

"With his diplomatic experience gained as head of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union and as ambassador to Japan, Kang is the right figure to incorporate such expertise into the unification discourse and promote the value of integration," Lee Kyu-yeon, presidential secretary for political affairs, told reporters.

KUAC is a presidential advisory body mandated by the Constitution to promote peaceful unification through policy consultation, consensus building and international outreach.

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