Lee Becomes 1st Female Secretary to Health Minister
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Lee Seu-ran, the former director of the welfare resources and social service task force team of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was designated as secretary to the health minister Monday, becoming the first female to serve in the position.
There have been female secretaries appointed by female ministers, but it is quite unusual for a male minister to hire one. She is said to be an expert in health insurance, welfare services as well as medical services.
Thirty-five-year-old Lee first devoted herself to working for the ministry when she started volunteering for the economically deprived in her teenage years. ``I had no money, no power to help them much and I thought it would be nice if I could lead the government to help them one day,’’ she recalled.
Graduating from Konkuk University she earned a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, she led several of the most prestigious projects at the ministry including establishing a child abuse prevention center and social contribution centers and creating social service jobs.
When asked whether she feels intimidated by her new job, she simply answered no. ``I have worked with and for many males, In the early days, maybe I felt a bit uncomfortable, but now I have all the know-how. I will not bound myself in traditional male-female ideas,’’ she said.
The ministry also expects Lee to play a groundbreaking role for the 30 percent of officials who are women at the ministry.