Seung-Yul Lee was born in 1948 in Chungo, Gyeongsangbuk-do. He graduated from Gyeongbuk High School and Dongguk University with a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in philosophy. As a business person in the field of construction, he met Dr. Jin-Kyung, Kim (the current President of Yanbian University of Science and Technology and Director of the joint operation of Pyongyang University of Science and Technology) in Beijing in 1990 and participated in the establishment and academic activity of the Yanbian University of Science and Technology. He served as Vice President of Foreign Affairs and contributed significantly to the development of universities. He also studied international politics at Yanbian University to study and obtain his doctorate in ethnology and law at the Central National University of Education in Beijing.
He also served as the architectural chairman of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology and the Vice-Chancellor of the Pyongyang University. He also served as a guest researcher at the Northeast Asia Research Institute of Beijing University, Chairman of the Wonwu Forum, a Korean-American community network, and chairman of the Northeast Asia Community Research Foundation. He is working hard to realize the unity and future development of Northeast Asia.