Lee Beom-seok (prime minister)

Lee Beom-seok
His Excellency; Lee Beom-seok
	이범석
1st Prime Minister of South Korea
	In office; August 1, 1948 – April 21, 1950
President	Syngman Rhee
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Shin Sung-mo (acting)
Senator of the Republic of Korea; (5th National Assembly)
	In office; August 8, 1960 – May 16, 1961
President	Yun Po Sun
Personal details
Born	October 20, 1900; Hwangseong, Korean Empire; (now Seoul, South Korea)
Died	May 11, 1972 (aged 71); Seoul, South Korea
Spouse(s)	Kim Maria
Military service
Allegiance	Korean Empire; Republic of China; South Korea
Korean name
Hangul	이범석
Hanja	李範奭
Revised Romanization	I Beom-seok
McCune–Reischauer	Yi Pŏmsŏk
Pen name
Hangul	철기
Hanja	鐵驥
Revised Romanization	Cheolgi
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ŏlgi

Lee Beom-seok (1900–1972) was a Korean independence activist and the first Prime Minister of South Korea from 1948 to 1950.[1] He also headed the Korean National Youth Association (조선민족청년단, 朝鮮民族靑年團).[2] His nickname was Chulgi.

Biography

Lee Beom-seok was born in Gyeongseong (now Seoul) on October 20, 1900. Lee's father was an officer in the Joseon Dynasty and he was a descendant of Sejong the Great's son 'Gwangpyeong Daegun (Korean: 광평대군; Hanja: 廣平大君)'.[3] Lee Beom-seok was exiled to the Republic of China after participating in independence activities as a teenager. In 1919, he started studying at the Shinheung military academy (Korean: 신흥무관학교; Hanja: 新興武官學校), a military school whose goal was to build a new army to fight for independence. Soon after, Lee fought in the Battle of Cheongsanni, a six-day engagement in eastern Manchuria. He later served as a general in the Korean Liberation Army for the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

In 1945, Lee attempted to return to Korea but was forced to remain in exile in China. In 1946, he returned to Korea and helped found the Korean National Youth Corps with Ahn Ho-sang.[4] He was opposed to Kim Gu's South-North negotiations (Korean: 남북협상; Hanja: 南北協商) and allied himself with Lee Syng-man to establish a unitary government in South Korea. He served as the new country's first prime minister from July 31, 1948 to April 20, 1950.

Later life and death

Following his term in office, Lee Beom-seok served as the Korean Ambassador to the Republic of China, and as Secretary of the Interior. He ran for the vice presidency in 1952, and again in 1956, but failed to win either election. Throughout the 1960s, he remained a staunch opposition leader to the ruling party.[5] At the end of his career, Lee served as an adviser on the Board of National Unification(Korean: 국토통일원; Hanja: 國土統一院) and mentored Park Chung-Hee as a Senator of the nation.

On May the 10th, 1972 he was granted a philosophy doctorate by the Taiwan Chinese Academy. The following day, May 11, he died of a myocardial infarction in the Seongmo hospital of Myeong-dong in Seoul. His state funeral was held in the Square of Namsan Mountain on May 17, and he was buried in Seoul National Cemetery.[6]

Posthumous Work

Udungbul (Korean: 우둥불)
Bangrangui Jeong-yeol(Passion of Wandering) (Korean: 방랑의 정열)(Passion of Wandering)
Hangug-ui Bunno(Rage of Korea) (Korean: 한국의 분노)
Minjok Gwa Cheongnyeon(Nationality and the Youth) (Korean: 민족과 청년)
Hyeoljeon: Cheongsanni Jakjeon(Bloody battle: Strategy of Cheongsanni) (Korean: 혈전: 청산리 작전)
Tomsk-ui Haneul Arae(Under the Tomsk's Sky) (Korean: 톰스크의 하늘아래)

References

Yahu! Baekgwasajeon 야후! 백과사전 [Yahoo! Encyclopedia], s.v. "Lee Beom-seok" 이범석, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2009-04-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Carter J. Eckert, Ki-baik Lee, Young Ick Lew, Michael Robinson, and Edward W. Wagner, Korea Old and New: A History (Seoul: Ilchokak / Korea Institute, Harvard University, 1990), 351.
"철기 이범석 장군 기념사업회('Chulgi' Lee Beom-seok General's Anniversary) : Lee Beom-Seok(이범석)".
"네이버캐스트 : 이범석(Lee Beom-seok)".
"인물로 보는 항일무장투쟁사(Armed Resistance against Japanese seeing human) : 역사문제연구소(Research Institute of Historical Problems), 1995, 73p". Missing or empty |url= (help)
"혼돈의 해방공간서 자유민주주의의 초석을 놓다(Put the basis of Liberal Democracy in Chaotic place) : 동아일보(Dong-A newspaper), 2008. 08. 22". Missing or empty |url= (help)

Site web

Lee Beom-seok Memorial museum (in Korean)
Lee Beom-seok (in Korean)

Preceded by N/A	Prime Minister of South Korea 1948 - 1950	Succeeded by Shin Sung-mo (acting)
Preceded by N/A	Defense minister of South Korea 1948 - 1949	Succeeded by Shin Sung-mo
Preceded by Chnag Seok-yun	Interior Minister of South Korea 1952	Succeeded by Kim Taesun

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[1] Yahu! Baekgwasajeon 야후! 백과사전 [Yahoo! Encyclopedia], s.v. "Lee Beom-seok" 이범석, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2009-04-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[2] Carter J. Eckert, Ki-baik Lee, Young Ick Lew, Michael Robinson, and Edward W. Wagner, Korea Old and New: A History (Seoul: Ilchokak / Korea Institute, Harvard University, 1990), 351.

[3] "철기 이범석 장군 기념사업회('Chulgi' Lee Beom-seok General's Anniversary) : Lee Beom-Seok(이범석)".

[4] "네이버캐스트 : 이범석(Lee Beom-seok)".

[5] "인물로 보는 항일무장투쟁사(Armed Resistance against Japanese seeing human) : 역사문제연구소(Research Institute of Historical Problems), 1995, 73p". Missing or empty |url= (help)

[6] "혼돈의 해방공간서 자유민주주의의 초석을 놓다(Put the basis of Liberal Democracy in Chaotic place) : 동아일보(Dong-A newspaper), 2008. 08. 22". Missing or empty |url= (help)