KOREA WHO
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Minister of Health and Welfare
Jeong Eun-kyeong
COVID Sentinel Turned Public Icon Leads Reform
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Last Updated on Nov 19, 2025
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Minister of Health and Welfare
Copy Url : https://www.koreawho.com/profile/JeongEunkyeong- Life Summary
Jeong Eun-kyeong is the Minister of Health and Welfare.
She is dedicating her efforts to medical reform and welfare expansion under the Lee Jae-myung administration.
She was born on July 9, 1965, in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do.
She graduated from Jeonnam Girls' High School and Seoul National University College of Medicine.
She received a Master of Public Health from the Graduate School of Public Health at Seoul National University and earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Graduate School of Seoul National University.
She has held key positions related to infectious disease surveillance and response at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, personally responding to the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak and the 2015 MERS crisis.
When the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency was elevated to an independent government body in 2020, she became its first commissioner and took practical command of the COVID-19 response.
She was later appointed Minister of Health and Welfare in the Lee Jae-myung administration and is leading efforts to strengthen regional, essential, and public healthcare, one of the government’s core policy priorities.
#JeongEunkyung #HealthWelfare #KoreaHealthcare #PublicHealth #InfectiousDisease #COVID19 #KDCA #MedicalReform #WelfarePolicy #LeeJaemyung
She is dedicating her efforts to medical reform and welfare expansion under the Lee Jae-myung administration.
She was born on July 9, 1965, in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do.
She graduated from Jeonnam Girls' High School and Seoul National University College of Medicine.
She received a Master of Public Health from the Graduate School of Public Health at Seoul National University and earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Graduate School of Seoul National University.
She has held key positions related to infectious disease surveillance and response at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, personally responding to the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak and the 2015 MERS crisis.
When the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency was elevated to an independent government body in 2020, she became its first commissioner and took practical command of the COVID-19 response.
She was later appointed Minister of Health and Welfare in the Lee Jae-myung administration and is leading efforts to strengthen regional, essential, and public healthcare, one of the government’s core policy priorities.
#JeongEunkyung #HealthWelfare #KoreaHealthcare #PublicHealth #InfectiousDisease #COVID19 #KDCA #MedicalReform #WelfarePolicy #LeeJaemyung
- Life Summary
- Career Highlights & Challenges
- · Securing the Foundation of the Integrated Care Program정 Eun-kyeong has made the stable nationwide implementation of the Integrated Care program, expanded across the country in 2025, her top priority. She views welfare not as fragmented services but as a continuous support system that follows the flow of an individual’s life.
- · Emphasizing Sustainability in Pension Reform정 Eun-kyeong is presenting sustainability as a key priority in pension reform.
- · Leading ‘Regional–Essential–Public’ Medical Reform in the Lee Jae-myung Administration정 Eun-kyeong is at the forefront of implementing the Lee Jae-myung administration’s key healthcare agenda focused on strengthening regional, essential, and public medical services.
- · Appointment as Minister of Health and Welfare정 Eun-kyeong was appointed Minister of Health and Welfare on July 22, 2025.
- · First Commissioner of the KDCA, Leading the Fight Against COVID-19정 Eun-kyeong was appointed the first commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on September 12, 2020, when the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was elevated to an independent government agency. This marked the establishment of the nation’s first standalone body dedicated solely to infectious disease response.
- · Laying the Foundation for Korea’s Infectious Disease Response Through H1N1 and MERS정 Eun-kyeong confronted the MERS outbreak in 2015 as Director of the Center for Disease Prevention at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- · Entering Public Service as a Physician정 Eun-kyeong graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine and obtained her specialist qualification in family medicine.
- Vision and Goals
- Market and Social Evaluation
- Notable Incidents & Legal Affairs
- - Spousal Stock-Holding Allegations Linked to COVID-19 BeneficiariesOn July 18, 2025, the confirmation hearing for Jeong Eun-kyeong, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee was suspended just 40 minutes after it began due to disputes over the submission of her spouse’s stock trading records.
- - Spousal Farmland Law Violation AllegationsJeong Eun-kyeong faced accusations that farmland owned by her spouse was held for speculative purposes rather than for actual cultivation, raising suspicions of a violation of the Farmland Act.
- Professional Timeline
- Educational Background
- Family & Personal Connections
- Awards & Recognitions
- Additional Information
- Notable Quotations
- Infographic & Photos