Lee Hoi-chang | |
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이회창 | |
Lee in 2010
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26th Prime Minister of South Korea | |
In office 17 December 1993 – 21 April 1994 |
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President | Kim Young-sam |
Preceded by | Hwang In-sung |
Succeeded by | Lee Yung-dug |
Personal details | |
Born |
Sohung County, Hwanghae, Korea |
2 June 1935
Nationality | South Korean |
Political party | Bareun (2017–present) |
Other political affiliations |
New Korea (1996–1997) Grand National (1997–2007) Independent (2007–2008) Liberty Forward (2008–2012) Saenuri (2012–2017) |
Spouse(s) | Han In-ok |
Children | 2 sons |
Alma mater | Seoul National University |
Lee Hoi-chang | |
Hangul | |
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Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | I Hoe-chang |
McCune–Reischauer | Yi Hoech'ang |
Pen name | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Gyeongsa |
McCune–Reischauer | Kyŏngsa |
Lee Hoi-chang (Korean pronunciation: [i.hø.tɕʰaŋ]; 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 Korea. Prior to his presidential campaigns, Lee served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Korea.
Lee was born to an elite family in Seoheung, Hwanghae (part of what is now North Korea), but grew up in the South after his father Yi Hong-gyu, a public prosecutor, was appointed to a new post. Lee studied law at Seoul National University. Lee served as a judge from 1960 to 1980, when he became the country's youngest-ever Supreme Court Justice at the age of 46.
In 1988, Lee was appointed Chairman of the National Election Commission. He was chosen to head the Board of Audit and Inspection under President Kim Young-sam in 1993. Lee's anti-corruption campaigns in that office gained him the nickname "Bamboo," a Korean term for an upright person of principle. Later in the same year, he was appointed prime minister, but resigned in 1994. His departure was attributed to a frustration with the exclusion of the office of the prime minister from policymaking, in particular with respect to North Korea.
In 1996, Lee led the parliamentary campaign of the then-ruling New Korea Party (NKP), which merged with the United Democratic Party to become the Grand National Party (GNP) in 1997. Lee was elected as his party's presidential candidate for the presidential election scheduled for that same year. Lee was initially considered the frontrunner in the race, although his performance in public polling took a hit amid revelations in September that two of his sons had been excused from mandatory military service for reporting for duty underweight, having each lost 22 pounds since their initial physical examinations. Lee ultimately lost to Kim Dae-jung in the midst of the Asian economic crisis.