Lee Hong-koo

Lee Hong-koo was one of South Korea's most distinguished scholar-statesmen — a political scientist who crossed seamlessly from the lecture hall to the highest corridors of power, and whose steady hand helped shape the arc of Korean democracy, diplomacy, and national identity over more than six decades. Born on May 9, 1934, in Kaesong, Lee came of age during Korea's most turbulent years: Japanese colonial rule, liberation, and the devastation of the Korean War. The experience forged in him a lifelong conviction that democracy was not a destination but a discipline. He studied law briefly at Seoul National University before traveling to the United States, earning a BA in philosophy from Emory University in 1959 and completing his MA and PhD in political science at Yale University in 1961 and 1968. His purpose, as he later put it, was simple: "Learn about politics in an advanced country in order to contribute to my homeland, which was just beginning to take its first steps toward democracy." He returned to Korea in 1968 and spent two decades as a professor of political science at Seoul National University, earning a reputation as the foremost political scientist in the country and serving as president of the Korean Political Science Association. When President Roh Tae-woo called him into public service in 1988, Lee resigned his tenured professorship — making room, he said, for younger scholars — and entered a new chapter. As Minister of National Unification, he authored the landmark National Community Unification Formula of 1989 and negotiated with the North at Panmunjom in 1994 toward a historic summit that ultimately did not occur, a missed opportunity he mourned for the rest of his life. Appointed the 28th Prime Minister of South Korea in December 1994, Lee presided over a nation surging with ambition and grief in equal measure. His tenure was marked by the catastrophic Sampoong Department Store collapse of June 1995, which killed more than 500 people, and the triumph of securing South Korea's co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. As ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2000, he worked tirelessly through the Asian financial crisis to marshal international support for Korea, meeting key figures from early morning until evening. After his diplomatic service, Lee remained a vital public intellectual — founding the East Asia Institute, chairing the Seoul Forum for International Affairs, and advocating persistently for constitutional reform. Known across the political spectrum as a rare consensus builder, he mentored generations of students and journalists with equal generosity and care. Lee Hong-koo passed away on June 5, 2026, at the age of 92. He is survived by his wife Park Han-ok, two daughters, a son, and several grandchildren. He leaves behind a Korea that is more democratic, more connected to the world, and more sure of itself — in no small part because of him.