Lee Ki-taek (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 이기택, 25 July 1937 – 20 February 2016) was a South Korean politician and parliamentarian. Started as a youth politician of

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

in 1967, he served as the Chairman of

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, a splinter group of United Democratic Party known as "Little Democrats", from 1990 to 1991, and also as a co-president of newly formed

along with

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democra ...

from 1991 to 1992, and solely from 1992 to 1995. He also served as the chairman for United Democratic Party from 1996 to 1997, and temporarily for

Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...

in 1998. He was also a long-term

Member of the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

between the period of 1967 to 1996.

Early life

Lee Ki-taek was born in Youngil County,

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

(now in

Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...

) on 25 July 1937. He had to move to

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

with his family in 1950 due to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He was educated at Busan Commercial High School (now Kaesong High School), and earned a bachelor's degree in

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

, and also a master's degree in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

, where he used to be the President of Student Council and led a protest against

election fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

of the President

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

and his Freedom Party, which occurred the fall of the government. In 1961, he became the Division Chief in

South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World ...

of Democratic Youth Committee.

Political career

Early years

Prior to the 1967 election, Lee was brought to

(NDP) by its chairman, Yoo Jin-oh. He then ran 14th in the NDP list and elected as the youngest MP in South Korean history. He formed Pan-Youth Resistance Committee within the party, and led a protest against constitutional amendment proposed by

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

, President of the Republic, and his ruling Democratic Republican Party. In 1971 election, he switched to Dongrae District 2nd constituency (also known as

3rd constituency) and won. He was continuously elected to newly formed Dongrae District constituency in 1973 and 1978 election. Lee was also a critic for

Kim Young-sam Kim Young-sam (; or ; 20 December 1927 – 22 November 2015) was a Demographics of South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the seventh president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998. From 1961, he spent almost 30 year ...

, who was elected as the party's Chairman in 1974. He endorsed Lee Cheol-seung (CS) in 1976 leadership election, and CS could be elected as the new President of NDP, defeating Kim. Lee was then appointed as secretary-general by CS, but soon after, both were estranged from each other. Lee ran for the chairmanship in 1979 leadership election. He received 17.8%, came to 3rd behind of Lee Cheol-seung and Kim Young-sam, and was eliminated from the 1st round. In the 2nd round, he endorsed Kim, who narrowly beat CS. Kim then appointed Lee as Deputy Chairman, which made him as the youngest person to hold the position in South Korea.

1980s

Lee was banned from politics by New Military of

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

in 1980, therefore unable to run in 1981 election. His constituency was then taken over by Park Kwan-yong, Lee's secretary, and Kim Jin-jae. He then moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and worked as a visiting professor in

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. After his political ban was lifted in 1984, Lee subsequently joined New Korea and Democratic Party (NKDP), along with Kim Young-sam and

. Originally, he was intended to run for Dongrae District, where he used to be an MP of, in 1985 election. However, the constituency was already taken over by Park Kwan-young, who was elected under the banner of Democratic Korea Party in 1981 and switched to NKDP in 1984. He then decided to run for Haeundae and South District constituency, and successfully returned as MP. Lee served as Deputy Chairman under

Lee Min-woo Lee Min-woo (hangul: 이민우; born July 28, 1979), also known mononymously credited as M as a solo artist, is a South Korean entertainer, known as a member of the South Korean boy band Shinhwa. Lee was the first Shinhwa member to debut a ...

, who was elected for the chairmanship in 1985 leadership election. Soon, the party faced an internal conflicts, after Lee Min-woo announced his own plan (known as "Lee Min-woo Plan") that supported

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

. This was strongly objected by Kim Young-sam (YS) and Kim Dae-jung (DJ), who advocated to maintain the incumbent

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

but sought for

direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

of the President. Both YS, DJ, and their followers left NKDP and founded United Democratic Party (UDP) on 21 April 1987. Lee was also one of them, but did not join UDP till the 29 June Declaration. In 1988 election, Lee ran for Haeundae District and re-elected. He served as the Deputy Chairman of UDP from 1987 to 1989, and also the parliamentary leader, replacing Seo Seok-jae, in 1989. He was also the President of Special Investigative Committee established to investigate the corruptions regarding with the ruling

Democratic Justice Party The Democratic Justice Party (; DJP) was the ruling party of South Korea from 1981 to 1988. History Chun had become the country's de facto leader after leading a military coup in December 1979, and was elected president in his own right in ...

1990s

On 22 January 1990, Kim Young-sam (YS), Chairman of UDP, declared to the party's merger with Democratic Justice Party and New Democratic Republican Party, in order to form Democratic Liberal Party (DLP). Lee, who led the party's dissidents, refused to join and formed

, commonly known as "Little Democrats". He subsequently became the party's Chairman, but then decided to merge with Kim Dae-jung (DJ)'s New Democratic Unionist Party (NDUP) after the serious defeat in 1991 local elections. On 16 September 1991, both NDUP and Little Democrats was combined altogether and re-founded as

. Both DJ and Lee was elected as co-presidents. In 1992 election, he switched to proportional and won as 2nd. Prior to the presidential election in 1992, Lee ran for the presidential primary on 26 May, but defeated with a large margin to DJ. Nevertheless, DJ was widely criticised for his controversial remarks, which called rural voters as "pro-DLP", and/or "pro-

Roh Tae-woo Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader ...

". DJ lost to YS, and declared his retirement from politics. Lee solely became the party's president, and was re-elected in 1993. The Democratic Party then absorbed

New Korea Party The New Korea Party (; NKP) was founded by the merging of Roh Tae-woo's Democratic Justice Party, Kim Young Sam's Reunification Democratic Party and Kim Jong-pil's New Democratic Republican Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party (; DLP). It ...

of Lee Jong-chan in the early 1995, and won the local elections in 1995. However, shortly after, DJ officially returned to politics, and conflicts were sparked. The party's pro-DJ factions, not excluding DJ himself, left and founded a new party, named

National Congress for New Politics The National Congress for New Politics (; NCNP) was a political party of South Korea. History The party was formed in 1995 as the National Congress for New Politics after Kim Dae-jung returned to active politics following his retirement in 1992 ...

(NCNP). Lee, who was in charge of this incident, had to resign his presidency. His party, was re-built as United Democratic Party (UDP) on 21 December. Lee ran for Haeundae & Gijang 1st constituency in 1996 election, but lost to the ruling

(NKP)'s Kim Woon-hwan, which ended his MP career for almost 30 years. Shortly after the defeat, he was elected as the Chairman of UDP. He kept trying to return as MP, and in 1997 by-elections, he ran for North District of

, where he was born, but defeated to

Park Tae-joon Park Tae-joon (September 29, 1927 – December 13, 2011) was a South Korean business tycoon, war hero, political leader, and philanthropist. His most renowned accomplishment includes founding of POSCO and growing it into one of the world's larg ...

, who soon became a crucial figure of Alliance of DJP. He resigned his chairmanship on 11 September, and was replaced by

Cho Soon Cho Soon ( ko, 조순; 1 February 1928 – 23 June 2022) was a South Korean politician. A member of the Grand National Party and later the Democratic People's Party, he served in the National Assembly from 1998 to 2000. Cho died in Seoul ...

, ex-Mayor of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. Under the leadership of Cho, UDP decided to merge with the ruling NKP, in order to overcome its minority position. Both were merged into

(GNP), and most of members including Lee automatically joined to the new party, despite of some dissidents who refused to join i.e.

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (; ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

. Cho then became the Chairman of newly formed GNP. Since GNP was ''de facto'' the ruling party, this was the first time that Lee became a ruling politician. Nevertheless, GNP's presidential candidate,

Lee Hoi-chang Lee Hoi-chang (; born June 2, 1935) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the 26th Prime Minister of South Korea from 1993 to 1994. He was a presidential candidate in the 15th, 16th and 17th presidential elections of South K ...

, lost to NCNP's Kim Dae-jung, and Lee became again as an opposition politician. After GNP lost to Alliance of DJP in 1998 local elections, Cho resigned his chairmanship. Lee was the acting chairman, till Lee Hoi-chang was newly elected.

2000s and after

Prior to 2000 election, GNP faced a conflicts regarding with

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

s. The party's dissidents, including Lee, left and established Democratic National Party (DNP). He was preselected as MP candidate for

Yeonje District Yeonje District is a '' gu'' in central Busan, South Korea. It has an area of 12.08 km², and a population of about 220,000. Yeonje-gu was created in March 1995 following its separation from Dongnae-gu. Its name was formed by taking the first ...

, but lost to GNP's Kwon Tae-mang. During the presidential election in 2002, he supported

, the presidential candidate of Millennium Democratic Party. Roh was then elected as the President of the Republic, but Lee subsequently declined his endorsement towards Roh due to the ideological conflicts. He did not run as MP from 2004 election. In 2007 presidential election, Lee Ki-taek endorsed GNP's candidate

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the ma ...

(MB). He then re-joined GNP, and was appointed to

National Unification Advisory Council The Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (, 民主平和統一諮問會議) is the constitutional organization, established in accordance with the Article 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and the National Unification Advisory Cou ...

on 1 September 2008. After that, he was also involved in various organisations.

Death and legacy

Lee passed away on 20 February 2016, in St. Mary's Hospital of Seoul, aged 78. The day before he died, he completed his reminiscences named ''The Way of a Cow'' (

: 우행). This was released on 15 September 2017. Several politicians put comments regarding with him.

Personal life

Lee Ki-taek married to Lee Kyung-ui, and had a son (Lee Sung-ho) and 3 daughters ― Lee Woo-in, Lee Ji-in, and Lee Se-in. Lee's other family members were also key members of

Taekwang Industry Taekwang Industrial Co, Ltd. () is a South Korean chemical and textile company headquartered in the Jangchung-dong area of central Seoul, with plants located in China as well as in Korea. Founded by Lee Im Yong in 1950, the company has developed ...

Election results

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ki-taek 1937 births 2016 deaths Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) 20th-century South Korean politicians Liberty Korea Party politicians Korea University alumni People from North Gyeongsang Province