Lee Hong-koo, chairperson of the board for the Seoul Forum for International Affairs, speaks during an event in Seoul in this April 18, 2022, file photo. Lee, a scholar-turned-politician who served as Korea’s prime minister in the 1990s and held key diplomatic posts in London and Washington, died on Tuesday. He was 91. Newsis
Lee Hong-koo, a scholar-turned-politician who served as Korea’s prime minister in the 1990s and held key diplomatic posts in London and Washington, died on Tuesday. He was 91.
Born in 1934, Lee graduated from Kyunggi High School and Seoul National University before studying politics at Emory University and Yale University in the United States. After receiving his Ph.D. in political science, he returned to Seoul National University as a political science professor and gained prominence through his academic work and newspaper columns that dissected contemporary Korean politics.
Lee entered public office in 1988 during the Roh Tae-woo administration as the head of the National Unification Board, the predecessor of the Ministry of Unification. He later went on to serve as ambassador to Great Britain.
Under President Kim Young-sam, Roh’s successor, Lee was appointed prime minister in 1994. Later, he moved into partisan politics as a key figure in the conservative New Korea Party and won a seat as a National Assembly member in 1996.
Lee resigned his parliamentary seat in 1998 to serve as ambassador to Washington under the liberal Kim Dae-jung administration, a post he held during a critical period for the Korea-U.S. alliance, working through both the Asian financial crisis of the late 90s and Kim's push for inter-Korean peace.
After returning to Korea in 2000, Lee remained active in both academia and media. He served as chairman of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs, adviser to the JoongAng Ilbo, a major newspaper, and head of cultural and philanthropic organizations including the Yumin Cultural Foundation and the Korea Volleyball Association.
Source: Korea Times News
