Minister Kang Kyung-hwa's Father-in-Law Registered as Independence Activist

Lee Gi-eul, honorary professor at Yonsei University and father-in-law of Minister Kang Kyung-wha.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The late Professor Lee Gi-eul, an emeritus professor at Yonsei University and the father-in-law of former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa who passed away last month, will be registered as an independence activist.

According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on the 12th, the agenda regarding the selection of Professor Lee as a recipient of the independence activist award was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 3rd. A presidential citation will be awarded to the bereaved family on the upcoming Memorial Day for the Patriots on the 17th.

Professor Lee, originally from Bukcheong, Hamnam, was involved in the so-called 'Central High School 5-member Reading Club' incident during the late Japanese colonial period. The 5-member Reading Club was an organization formed in 1940 by five fourth-year students of Central High School, including Professor Lee, under the guidance of the late teacher Choi Bok-hyun, with the purpose of fostering national spirit and achieving independence.

The following summer vacation, a contact letter from one student was discovered by the Japanese police, leading to Professor Lee's arrest. He is known to have spent several months imprisoned at Hamheung Prison.

After his release, Professor Lee entered the Commerce Department of Yonhee Professional School (the predecessor of Yonsei University) in 1943, but later that year was conscripted as a Japanese military laborer and experienced liberation while in Japan.

After liberation, he graduated from Yonhee Professional School in 1947 and Yonsei University's College of Commerce in 1952, and served as a professor at Yonsei University from 1955 to 1989.

The late professor had previously applied for the independence activist award once in 1983 but was rejected. However, this time, seven months after submitting the application in April, the award grade was decided. It is reported that the award evaluation criteria have changed somewhat since then.

Professor Lee passed away last month on the 13th at the age of 97. With the recognition of his award this time, his bereaved family will receive a monthly veterans' pension of 743,000 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.