Lee Hun Jai (born April 17, 1944) is a South Korean politician who served as the acting

Prime Minister of South Korea The prime minister of the Republic of Korea (PMOTROK or PMOSK; ) is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea who is appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's app ...

twice, from May 19, 2000, to May 22, 2000, and from July 25, 2004, to July 30, 2004. Both times others were nominated to officially take that position and were confirmed by Parliament, while Lee was meant only as a temporary placeholder. Lee does not belong to any political party.

Education

Lee was born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

on April 17, 1944. He graduated from

Kyunggi High School Kyunggi High School () is the oldest modern high school in Korea, located in Gangnam District, Seoul. The school is an all-boys school, and its counterpart is , also located in Gangnam District, Seoul. Kyunggi High School has educated many lead ...

in 1962, and

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

with a bachelor's degree in Law in 1966. Lee also earned his master's degree in Economics from the College of Economics at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in 1981 and MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

in 1982.

Career

After passing the 6th Examination for Higher Civil Service in 1968, Lee joined the Planning and Management of the Finance Ministry in 1969. He soon distinguished himself, helping to avert a currency crisis in 1973 which resulted from an oil shortage. He left the finance ministry in 1981 and rejoined the government later. He served as chairman of the South Korean Securities and Exchange Commission from 1991 to 1996 and as chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission from 1998 to 2000. While in these positions he was known as a ruthless business and banking reformer. In January 2000 he became

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

for the first time and served in that position until August 2000. In February 2004 he became deputy prime minister and also became finance minister again. On March 7, 2005, he announced his resignation from these positions after he was implicated in a real estate scandal. He left office a week later after his replacement was chosen.

References

External links

*
이헌재
at Nate people {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Hun Jai 1944 births Living people South Korean Roman Catholics Seoul National University School of Law alumni Finance ministers of South Korea Government ministers of South Korea Harvard Business School alumni Deputy Prime Ministers of South Korea Jeonju Yi clan Boston University alumni Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize