Served in Roh Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam, and Kim Dae-jung Administrations... Former Prime Minister Lee Honggu Passes Away

At the Age of 92

Former Prime Minister Lee Honggu, who served during the administration of Kim Youngsam, passed away on the 5th at the age of 92.

Born in 1934, Lee graduated from Kyunggi High School, left the School of Law at Seoul National University before completion, and went to study in the United States. He majored in philosophy at Emory University and earned a PhD in political science from Yale University. He later served as a professor in the Department of Political Science at Seoul National University, and held positions as president of the Korean Political Science Association and executive board member of the International Political Science Association.

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Former Prime Minister Lee Honggu, who was active across academia and politics, passed away on the 5th at the age of 92. Born in 1934, he studied at Kyunggi High School, Seoul National University, Emory University in the United States, and Yale University. He then served as a professor in the Department of Political Science at Seoul National University, where he gained attention for his papers and editorials illuminating contemporary politics in academic journals and newspapers.

Lee Honggu began his public service career in earnest during the Roh Tae-woo administration and served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom. During the Kim Youngsam administration, he was appointed Minister of Unification and Deputy Prime Minister, as well as Prime Minister. At that time, he was also active as the representative member of the ruling New Korea Party.

The photo shows then Prime Minister Lee Honggu at a press conference marking the closing of the Madrid Club Seoul Senior Leaders Meeting held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on September 2, 2010.
2026.5.5 [Yonhap News Archive Photo]
Photo by Yonhap News

In 1988, he began his official public service career as Minister of the National Unification Board during the administration of Roh Tae-woo. He subsequently served as Special Political Advisor to the President and as Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

During the administration of Kim Youngsam, he served as Vice Chair of the National Unification Advisory Council, Minister of Unification and Deputy Prime Minister, before being appointed as the 28th Prime Minister in 1994.

After completing his tenure as Prime Minister, he joined the then-ruling New Korea Party as the party's representative member in 1996. In the same year, he entered the National Assembly as a member elected by proportional representation in the 15th general election.

Under the Kim Daejung administration in 1998, he resigned from his parliamentary post and was appointed the first Ambassador to the United States, where he worked to help resolve the financial crisis at an early stage.

After returning to Korea in 2000 following his ambassadorship, he was active across a wide range of sectors beyond academia. He served as Chairman of the Seoul International Forum, advisor to JoongAng Ilbo, Chairman of the Yumin Cultural Foundation, advisor to the Korea Volleyball Association, and board member of the Asan Foundation.

He is survived by his wife Park Hanok; his son Lee Hyunwoo (CEO of EIG Asia); his daughters Lee Soyoung and Lee Minyoung (professor at Dongduk Women's University); his daughter-in-law Hwang Jiyeong (President of the Korean Women's Association in Hong Kong); and his son-in-law Lee Kangho (professor at Korea National University of Arts).

The funeral parlor has been set up at Room 20 of Seoul Asan Medical Center Funeral Hall.

The funeral service will be held at 8:00 a.m. on May 8, with the burial at 9:00 a.m. The final resting place will be Cheonan Park Cemetery.

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