Yi Yun-yong (August 19, 1890 – October 15, 1975) was a South Korean politician. He was the acting

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

following

Chang Myon Chang Myon (hangul: 장면; hanja: 張勉; August28, 1899June4, 1966) was a South Korean statesman, educator, diplomat, journalist and social activist as well as a Roman Catholic youth activist. He was the only prime minister of the parliamenta ...

Biography

Early life and activism

Yi was born in 1890 in

Nyongbyon County Nyŏngbyŏn County (in standard Southern dialect: Yŏngbyŏn) is a county in North Pyŏngan province, North Korea. It borders the cities of Kaechŏn and Anju, and covers an area of 504 km². Description The city was heavily fortified du ...

, and his

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

was Baeksa (白史). He graduated from Sungduk school(a school founded in by American missionary Ethel Esty) in the region, and received lessons about land surveys from the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

.In 1910 he became a principal for a school and graduated from Sungshil instructors school in 1912. In 1916, he became a pastor. While working as a pastor for the Sinchang church, he was arrested for leading lectures for korean independence and served jailtime of 1 year and two months. In 1936, he was against the unification of korean churches with the Japanese churches, fearing the dissolution of korean churches by the japanese authorities. In the context of the Pacific wars, he was fired from his pastor post.

Post-liberation

Directly after liberation of korea in the August 1945, he became the vice president of the Pyongyang people's committee and participated in the founding of the

Korean Social Democratic Party The Korean Social Democratic Party (KSDP) is a political party in North Korea, allied with the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. It was formed on 3 November 1945 as the Korean Democratic Party by a diverse group of medium and small entrepreneurs, ...

(then known as the Korean Democratic Party, though when he defected to South Korea, the party came with him) with

Cho Man-sik Cho Man-sik ( ko, 조만식; pen-name Kodang; 1 February 1883 – 15 or 18 October 1950) was a nationalist activist in Korea's independence movement. He became involved in the power struggle that enveloped North Korea in the months following t ...

. He defected to South Korea in February 1946 after it was revealed that he sent a secret letter to Seoul regarding his opinions of being against the trusteeship decision. In 1948 he became one of the founding members of the South Korean parliament. He was appointed as a

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in 1952 and inaugurated as principal for Sinheung college(which were to be

Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) (Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities i ...

) and became the head of committee for the anti communist reunification union in July of the same year. He was elected as head of the Korean democratic party in 1958.In 1961 he was against the extension of military rule.

Notes

References

Prime Ministers of South Korea 1890 births 1975 deaths Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Korean Social Democratic Party politicians {{SouthKorea-politician-stub