Im Yeong-sin ( ko, 임영신, 20 November 1899 – 17 February 1977), also known by the English name Louise Yim, was a South Korean educator and politician. She was both the first female minister in South Korea, holding the post of Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1948 to 1949, and the first woman elected to the South Korean parliament, serving from 1949 to 1954. Yim also helped establish

Chung-Ang University Chung-Ang University (CAU; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is widely regarded as one of the best universities in South Korea. The university operates two campuses: main campus located in Dongjak District, Seoul, and a ...

Biography

Yim was born into a wealthy family of farmers in

Geumsan Geumsan County (''Geumsan-gun''; Korean: 금산군) is a county in South Chungcheong Province (Before 1963, Geumsan was in Jeollabuk-do), South Korea. History Administrative district name, Geumsan-gun, have nowadays was originate from the union of ...

in 1899.Louise Yim, Seoul Legislator, Dies; Educator and Women's Leader
The New York Times, 17 February 1977 She began organising anti-Japanese activities while at high school. After organising protests as part of the

March 1st Movement The March 1st Movement, also known as the Sam-il (3-1) Movement (Hangul: 삼일 운동; Hanja: 三一運動), was a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan in 1919, and protesting forced assimilation ...

in 1919, she was jailed and tortured.James E. Hoare (2015
''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea''
p211 She subsequently attended university in 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 ...

, earning an MA in political science and theology at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Returning to Korea, she worked for the Young Women's Christian Association, before becoming head of the Chung-Ang Training School for Kindergarten Teachers. Although the Japanese closed the school in 1944, she reopened it the following year, after which she worked to transform it into

. In 1945 she also founded the Korean Women's National Party. She served as a Korean representative at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

from 1946 to 1948, helping draft the resolution that granted South Korea independence. In 1948 she was appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry by 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 ...

, becoming the first female minister in a South Korean government. The following year she contested a by-election to the Constituent National Assembly in Andong, becoming the first South Korean woman elected to parliament (four woman had previously been appointed members).Susan Franceschet, Mona Lena Krook, Netina Tan (2018
''The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights''
p628 She was re-elected to 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 repre ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. In 1952 she contested the vice-presidential elections, finishing seventh in a field of nine candidates with 2.7% of the vote. In 1953 she was appointed president of Chung-Ang University, a role she held until 1961. She lost her seat in the National Assembly in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, but ran for the vice-presidency again in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, finishing last out of four candidates with less than 1% of the vote. Yim published an autobiography, ''My Forty Year Fight for Korea''. She died in

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 ...

in February 1977 at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yim, Louise 1899 births People from South Chungcheong Province South Korean Christians Korean independence activists University of Southern California alumni South Korean educators Chung-Ang University South Korean diplomats Government ministers of South Korea Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) 1977 deaths Women government ministers of South Korea Presidents of universities and colleges in South Korea Female members of the National Assembly (South Korea)