Lee Cheol-seung

For the table tennis player, see Lee Chul-seung.
In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.
Lee Cheol-seung
이철승
Deputy Speaker of the 9th National Assembly
In office
12 March 1973 – 11 March 1976
Preceded byKim Jin-man
Succeeded byKu Tae-hui
Member of the National Assembly
In office
11 April 1985 – 29 May 1988
Preceded byIm Bang-hyeon
Succeeded byconstituency dissolved
ConstituencyJeonju–Wanju
In office
12 March 1973 – 27 October 1980
Preceded byconstituency created
Succeeded byIm Bang-hyeon
ConstituencyJeonju–Wanju
In office
1 July 1971 – 17 October 1972
Preceded byKim Yong-jin
Succeeded byconstituency dissolved
ConstituencyJeonju
In office
31 May 1954 – 6 May 1961
Preceded byPark Jeong-geun
Succeeded byconstituency dissolved
ConstituencyJeonju (1954–1958)
Jeonju B (1958–1961)
Personal details
Born15 May 1922
Keijō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died27 February 2016(2016-02-27) (aged 93)
Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea
Resting placeSeoul National Cemetery
Party1954 Independent

1958 Democratic Party; 1971 New Democratic Party (신민당); 1973 New Democratic Party; 1976 Representative Supreme Member, the New Democratic Party; 1978 New Democratic Party;

1985 New Democratic Party;
SpouseKim Chang-hee
ChildrenYanghee Lee (daughter)
EducationKorea University
University of Pennsylvania
AwardsOrder of Civil Merit
Korean name
Hangul
이철승
Hanja
李哲承
RRI Cheolseung
MRI Ch'ŏlsŭng
Art name
Hangul
소석
Hanja
素石
RRSoseok
MRSosŏk

Lee Cheol-seung (Korean: 이철승; 15 May 1922 – 27 February 2016) was a South Korean politician who served as Deputy Speaker for the 9th National Assembly of South Korea. He was a long-time lawmaker who served seven terms in the National Assembly, representing Jeonju. His art name was Soseok (Korean: 소석; Hanja: 素石).

Lee was an advocate for the Korean independence movement, democracy, anti-communism, anti-military rule, and non-governmental organizations.[1] After Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, Lee led a student union that opposed the trusteeship of Korea under the United States and Soviet Union. He eventually entered politics in 1954 after winning a parliamentary seat.[2]

Lee and his two political rivals, former Presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, were famous for their political competition and the establishment and development of democracy in South Korea.[3] He was given buried in the Seoul National Cemetery on March 2, 2016.

Early life and education

Lee was born on 15 May 1922 in Seoul (then Keijō), in Japanese-occupied Korea. He attained his bachelor's degree in Political Science at Korea University in 1949. Following the May 16 coup in 1961, Lee was forced to relocate to the United States due to his opposition to Park Chung Hee's military regime;[4] there, he studied international relations at the University of Pennsylvania.[5]

In 1995, he received an honorary doctorate in literature from Woosuk University, and in 1998, an honorary doctorate in political science from Korea University.[5]

Political career

Following the liberation of Korea in 1945, Lee led a student movement opposing the joint trusteeship of Korea, becoming the chairman of the Anti-Trustee Students Assembly in 1946.[4][5]

During the 1954 South Korean legislative election, Lee ran a scuccessful campaign as an independent candidate representing Jeonju in the 3rd National Assembly of South Korea.[4] During his first term, Lee opposed the Liberal Party's proposed amendment to the South Korean Constitution, which would allow president Syngman Rhee to run an unlimited number of terms.[6] Following the ratification of the amendment in November 1954,[6] Lee became one of the founding members of the Democratic Party in 1955.[2]

Political exile

On May 16, 1961, Park Chung Hee, Kim Jong-pil, and Lee Nak-sun successfully staged a military coup d'etat. Immediately after, Park Chung Hee sent aides to try and win over key opposition lawmakers including Lee who rejected Park's request for help. Lee was forced to leave politics and went to the United States where he was vocally opposed to the military coup in Korea and studied political science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Post-political career and civil society leadership

1990

  • Director, The Seoul Peace Prize
  • Member, The Seoul Peace Prize Selection Committee

1993

  • Director, Commemorative Committee for "Patriotic Martyr in Yeosoon"

1994~

  • Co-chairman, National Council for Freedom and Democracy

1995~

  • Advisor, Korea Eligible Senior Voters Federation

1996~

  • Chairman, Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation and President, the Seoul Peace Prize Selection Committee
  • Member, Organizing Committee for the 2002 World Cup
  • Chairman, Association of Patriotic Societies for National Foundation

1998

  • Chairman, Preparatory Committee for Commemorative of the Founding of the Republic of Korea

2005

  • 자유민주비상국민회의 대표의장

2007

  • Chairman, Parliamentarians' Society of the Republic of Korea

2011~2016

  • Chairman, The Elders Group of the Parliamentarians' Society of the Republic of Korea

Death

Lee died on February 27, 2016, at 03:45 KST, at Samsung Hospital in Seoul at the age of 94. A funeral was held for him on March 2, 2016, that began with a five-day wake and a police-escorted procession that led to the National Assembly and ended with a gun salute at the Seoul National Cemetery where he is buried along with former South Korean presidents.

Publications

  • The Republic of Korea and I (대한민국과 나; 2011)
  • Oh! Who Will Look After Korea (오! 대한민국 누가 지키리; 2002)
  • A Challenge for Hopelessness (절망에의 도전)
  • Long March to Democracy (민주의 장정)
  • Pan-National Student Federation (전국학련)
  • The Middle-of-the-Road Integration Theory (중도통합론; 1992)
  • The Sound Argument of Chaotic Period
  • A History of Korean Students' National-Building Movement
  • How the Republic of Korea was Founded (1998)
  • My Political Thoughts for Democratic Development

See also

References

  1. ^ "7선 의원 지낸 이철승 전 신민당 총재 별세". The Chosun Ilbo.
  2. ^ a b Kang, Seung-woo (28 Feb 2016). "Former 7-term lawmaker dies". The Korea Times.
  3. ^ "See news video clip: '40대 기수론' 이철승, YS-DJ 잠든 서울현충원 영면.Lee Chul-seun, YS-DJ Rest Together at Seoul Nat'l Cemetery". news.ichannela.com.
  4. ^ a b c 최선욱 (28 February 2016). "[삶과 추억] 이철승 전 신민당 대표". The JoongAng Ilbo.
  5. ^ a b c "Chairman". Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  6. ^ a b 낮달 (28 January 2026). "'4는 버리고 5는 올린다' 이승만의 사사오입 개헌". 직썰.
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