A photograph published in mid-September on page 6 of the Korea Defense Daily, accompanying an article on a cooperation meeting between the South Korean and U.S. naval education commanders, has drawn belated attention. The article itself mattered, but what caught the eye was the Navy ensign interpreting beside the South Korean Naval Education Command chief.
At the meeting, Vice Adm. Kang Jung-ho, commander of the Navy Education Command, met Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, commander of the U.S. Naval Education and Training Command, to discuss expanding exchanges aimed at developing elite future talent in both navies and strengthening cooperation to advance education and training suited to a shifting security environment.
The interpreter seated next to Kang was Navy Ensign Lee Ji-ho, commissioned in November last year and the eldest son of Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, a fourth-generation member of the Samsung family. Lee is serving as an interpretation officer assigned to the information operations staff office of the Navy's 5th Mine Warfare and Amphibious Flotilla.
The 5th Flotilla is a core unit under the direct command of the Navy Operations Command, specializing in mine warfare and amphibious operations. Lee is said to handle interpretation between commanders and translation of information during combined operations with foreign forces. His appearance as interpreter that day was in support of the nearby Education Command.
In February, he was dispatched to Cobra Gold 2026, a multinational combined amphibious exercise held in Thailand that drew more than 8,000 personnel from 30 countries, where he served as an interpretation officer. He supported communication by handling interpretation between commanders and translation of information during combined operations with foreign forces.
Lee entered the Korea Naval Academy as a naval officer candidate in September last year and was commissioned as an ensign in late November of the same year. Born in the United States, Lee held dual South Korean and U.S. citizenship but renounced his U.S. citizenship to fulfill his military service obligation as a naval officer.
Under current law, dual nationals may retain their dual status when enlisting as rank-and-file soldiers, but must renounce foreign citizenship to serve as officers. It is the first time a member of the Samsung family has served as a military officer.
Lee will be promoted to lieutenant junior grade on Dec. 1. Upon promotion, his unit could change to a higher command such as Navy Headquarters or the Navy Operations Command, given how interpretation officers are deployed, according to accounts. His term of service is three years, with a discharge date of Nov. 30, 2028.
A Navy official said, "Ensign Lee serves with the conviction that every word an interpretation officer speaks not only bridges the two countries' relationship smoothly but that interpretation in the military field is directly tied to national security."
The official added, "Believing that for an interpretation officer, who serves as a 'messenger' for accurate delivery, what matters most is sheer ability, he studies military terminology without missing a single day to build the capacity to convey both English and Korean with complete fluency."
