이용섭 李庸燮
Politician who served as Commissioner of Customs and of the National Tax Service, Minister of Government Administration and of Construction; 13th Mayor of Gwangju
| Life | 1951 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 함평 이씨 |
Life & career
Yi Yong-seop (born 1951) is a Korean civil servant and politician introduced as a descendant of the Sonmu Hyeongam-gong branch of the Hampyeong Yi. Born on 11 August 1951, he graduated from Hampyeong Hakdari High School and Chonnam National University's business college, and received a master's in economics from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in economics from Sungkyunkwan University.
He passed the 14th higher civil service examination in 1973 and served as director of tax investigation and tax policy at the Ministry of Finance, and later as head of the Tax Tribunal and Director General for Tax and Customs at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. He became the 20th Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service in 2002 and the 14th Commissioner of the National Tax Service in 2003, and after serving as presidential secretary for innovation management became Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs in 2006 and Minister of Construction and Transportation in December that year.
He was elected to the National Assembly from Gwangsan-gu Eul, Gwangju, in 2008 and 2012, serving in the 18th and 19th Assemblies, and after winning the 2018 local election served as the 13th Mayor of Gwangju from July 2018 to June 2022. He is described as having passed confirmation hearings three times.
Career as a Civil Servant
Yi Yong-seop is introduced as a tax specialist who worked across the tax divisions of the Ministry of Finance. He was Director General for Tax and Customs at the Ministry of Finance and Economy in 2001, Customs Commissioner in 2002 and National Tax Service Commissioner in 2003.
His books include International Taxation and From Student Farmer to Minister.
Politics and the Gwangju Mayoralty
He was Minister of Government Administration in 2006 and Minister of Construction and Transportation later that year, and an Assembly member for Gwangsan-gu Eul from 2008 to 2014. He won the 2018 local election and served as Mayor of Gwangju until June 2022.