Wikipedia

Lee Ki-poong

Lee Ki-poong [also spelled as Yi Ki-bong or Lee Gi-bung][4][5] (20 December 1896 – 28 April 1960) was a South Korean politician, Vice Presidential candidate, Minister of Defense, Speaker of the Assembly and Mayor of Seoul.

Lee Ki-poong
이기붕
李起鵬
Official portrait, 1959
1st Chief of Staff to the President
In office
April 15, 1948 – October 1948
PresidentSyngman Rhee
Prime MinisterLee Beom-seok
Vice PresidentYi Si-yeong
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byKim Yang-cheon
3rd & 4th Mayor of Seoul
In office
June 6, 1949 – August 14, 1949
PresidentSyngman Rhee
Prime MinisterLee Beom-seok
Vice PresidentYi Si-yeong
Preceded byYun Bo-seon
Succeeded byHimself
In office
August 15, 1949 – May 8, 1951
PresidentSyngman Rhee
Prime MinisterLee Beom-seok
Shin Song-mo (acting)
Chang Myon
Vice PresidentYi Si-yeong
Preceded byHimself
Succeeded byKim Tai Sun [ko]
3rd Minister of National Defense
In office
May 7, 1951 – March 29, 1952
PresidentSyngman Rhee
Prime MinisterHo Chong (acting)
Vice PresidentYi Si-yeong
Chang Myon (acting)
Kim Seong-su
Preceded byShin Song-mo
Succeeded byShin Tae-young [ko]
3rd Speaker of the National Assembly
In office
June 9, 1954 – absent from April 25, 1960
April 28, 1960
PresidentSyngman Rhee
Prime MinisterPaik Too-chin
Pyon Yong-tae
Baek Han-seong [ko] (acting)
Position abolished (November 28, 1954 – April 25, 1960)
Ho Chong (acting)
Vice PresidentHam Tae-young
Chang Myon
Deputy
See list
Preceded byShin Ik-hee
Succeeded byKwak Sang-hoon
Personal details
Born(1896-12-20)December 20, 1896
Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, Joseon
DiedApril 28, 1960(1960-04-28) (aged 63)
Gyeongmudae[1] or Ihwajang,[2] Seoul, South Korea
Cause of deathAssassination by shooting
PartyLiberal
SpousePark Maria [ko]
Relations
Children4
  • 1 posthumously adoptive (이강복) Lee Kang-bok,
  • 1 died at a young age (이강희) Lee Kang-hee and
  • 2 committed suicide (이강석 / 이강욱) Lee Kang-seok and Lee Kang-wook
Parent(s)이낙의 Lee Nak-ui and 송정현 Song Jeong-hyeon
EducationTabor College (Iowa)[3]
OccupationPolitician
Korean name
Hangul
이기붕
Hanja
李起鵬
RRI Gibung
MRI Kibung
Art name
Hangul
만송
Hanja
晚松
RRMan Song
MRMan Song
ClanJeonju Yi clan

Biography

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Early life and education

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As a member of the Jeonju Yi clan, Lee had a claim of nobility; however, he and his family found themselves impoverished due to the Japanese occupation of Korea. Because of the occupation, Lee had to save enough currency to travel to the United States. He struggled for about six years after high school, but eventually made it and entered the now-defunct Tabor College in 1924. Seeing that his funds were rapidly decreasing, Lee traveled to New York seeking menial jobs; during his time in New York, Lee met Syngman Rhee. Disaffected by his conditions in 1935, Lee moved home to find his parents in poor health. Back in Korea, Lee met Park Maria, who was studying at missionary schools.[6]

Political Career

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Lee started his journey in earnest by becoming Mayor of Seoul from June 1949 to May 1951 then serving as leader of the Liberal Party from 1954 to 1960 during which he was also serving as Speaker of the assembly.[7][8] As a patron of sports Lee was elected to be President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee in 1952, later on he was co-opted onto the IOC on June 1955 and served in this capacity until his assassination.[9] By the 1956 election, Lee became the most prominent member of the Liberal Party, and was considered one of Rhee's closest and most powerful right-hand men,[10][11][4] however, this failure had caused the Liberal Party to panic, especially so when Cho Pong-am received 2 million votes in said election, as seemingly Rhee's popularity did not translate to electoral victory of his designated successor.[12]

As Minister of Defense

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Lee started his service towards Korea by becoming Minister of National Defense from May 1951 to March 1952 (during which Lee presented a proposal to enhance the capabilities of the South Korean army).[13] On August 10, 1951 as then Defense Minister he condemned the Geochang massacre which was perpetrated by Korean soldiers and vowed severe punishment to those responsible.[14] Lee, in being put in the position of MoNT was a firm supporter of President Syngman Rhee though as time had passed, Rhee had grown weary of Lee, which led him to dismiss him from the position of Defense Minister on March 29, 1952.[15]

The 1960 Election

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Lee was elected Vice President of South Korea in the controversial March 1960 presidential election.[a] In said election Rhee had sought his fourth term as President of South Korea. Both won by a very wide margin, and the election was widely condemned in South Korea for election rigging amid growing public opposition to Rhee's corrupt and authoritarian rule, including the deployment of Police forces to stem the potential anger of the citizenry.[21] As a result, the April Revolution took place in mid-April 1960, which resulted in Rhee resigning on April 27, 1960 and fleeing the country. Lee resigned before taking office as Vice President elect,[22] but the results of the March election were invalidated due to alleged election fraud[2] and the office itself was later abolished in June.

Death

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Seemingly during the whole ordeal of the April Revolution Lee had suffered from a case of "creeping paralysis" which was used to explain his inability of assuming the role of Vice President,[23] also Lee had been presumed to be missing from the night of April 25th.[1] In the early hours [around 4:30 / 5:45 AM] of April 28, 1960, in a "heavily guarded"[24] annex of Rhee's Seoul mansion, Lee and his family were shot and killed by his eldest son, Army 2nd Lieutenant Lee Kang-seok (adopted by Syngman Rhee in 1956 or 1958),[25][26] who remarked "Let's apologize through death.",[1] with his personal, M1911A1 .45 caliber automatic handgun, who then killed himself in a murder–suicide which he had planned two days previously.[27][28][29][30][4][5][1]

See also

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Further reading

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Footnotes

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  1. ↑ Prior to the student movement which the election resulted in, Lee was already disliked by the public for placing secretaries, advisers, and friends at positions of power around the aging Syngman Rhee. Due to his age, Rhee overly relied upon his protege—and by extension Lee's proxies, in particular a man named Park Chan-il who was an "agent" of Lee.[16][17][18][19][20]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 Do, Park (30 January 2020). "이승만과 이기붕, 과욕이 부른 비극적 결말" (in Korean). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 Yunhyeong, Gil (18 April 2010). "'수유동 묘지' 1995년 국립묘지로, 이기붕 집은 '혁명도서관'" (in Korean). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "Washington Reticent". 28 April 1960. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Eugene, Kim; Ke-soo, Kim (March 1964). "The April 1960 Korean Student Movement". The Western Political Quarterly. 17 (1). University of Utah: 83–92. doi:10.2307/445373. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 Chosun, Daily (7 July 2008). "60 Years of the Republic: The End of Syngman Rhee's Rule". Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "Rhee's Burdened Aide; Lee Ki Poong". The New York Times Company. 17 March 1960. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Report to the United Nations Commission for the unification and rehabilitation of Korea" (PDF). digitallibrary.un.org. UN Library. 13 October 1960. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  8. ↑ Madeline, Chi; Smith, Louis; LaFantasie, Glenn (1994). "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Japan; Korea, Volume XVIII" (Document). Washington: United States Government Printing Office.
  9. ↑ "Lee Gi-Bung". www.olympedia.org. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Kim 2021, p. 237.
  11. ↑ Hwang, Soo In. "The United States - Republic of Korea Security Relationship, 1953-1960: Great Power and Small State" (PDF). discovery.ucl.ac.uk. Department of History; University College London. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Byung-Book, Kim; Vogel, Ezra F. (2011). The Park Chung Hee Era; The Transformation of South Korea. Harvard University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-674-05820-0. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Jinhyouk, Kim (31 December 2023). "Development and Influence of Military Medicine during the Korean War: the Medical Field Service School and Training in the U.S.†". Korean Journal of Medical History. 32 (3): 891–930. doi:10.13081/kjmh.2023.32.891.
  14. ↑ "이기붕 국방부장관, 국민방위군사건·거창사건 관련 군인을 엄중 처벌하겠다고 언급". db.history.go.kr (in Korean). 13809 경기도 과천시 교육원로 86: National Institute of Korean History. 10 August 1951. Retrieved 11 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  15. ↑ "상공부 장관 등 친이승만 성향의 내각 경질에 관한 보고". db.history.go.kr (in Korean). 13809 경기도 과천시 교육원로 86: National Institute of Korean History. 4 April 1952. Retrieved 11 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  16. ↑ Eugene, Kim; Ke-soo, Kim (March 1964). "The April 1960 Korean Student Movement". The Western Political Quarterly. 17 (1): 83–92.
  17. ↑ "Korea". The Atlantic. October 1960.
  18. ↑ "Younghill Kang". koreanalumnibiographiesproject.hsites.harvard.edu. Harvard University.
  19. ↑ Roney, Stephen K. (6 January 2003). "Sins of the father, who lost his adopted son". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  20. ↑ Moon, Chung-in; Rhyu, Sang-young (1999). "'Overdeveloped' State and the Political Economy of Development in the 1950s". Asian Perspective. 23 (1): 179–203.
  21. ↑ Hsieh, John Fuh-sheng (2015). Confucian Culture and Democracy. World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. p. 95. ISBN 978-9814596381. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Rhee Yields; Will Step Out Sets Up New Korea Elections As 100,000 Riot In Capital". osupublicationarchives.osu.edu. The Ohio State University. 26 April 1960.
  23. ↑ "South Korean Election" (PDF). www.cia.gov. NSC. 16 March 1960. p. 3.
  24. ↑ "SOUTH KOREA: Quick to Wrath". 9 May 1960. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  25. ↑ "LE VICE-PRÉSIDENT EST ASSASSINÉ PAR SON FILS" (in French). Le Monde. 29 April 1960. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  26. ↑ "LEE, RHEE'S AIDE, DIES WITH FAMILY; Ex-Running Mate Slain in Suicide Pact, Army Says LEE, RHEE'S AIDE, DIES WITH FAMILY Dead in South Korean Capital". The New York Times. 28 April 1960. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  27. ↑ "Ousted Korean Vice President Dies with Family". cdnc.ucr.edu. Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research. 28 April 1960. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  28. ↑ "SOUTH KOREA: Quick to Wrath". content.time.com. 9 May 1960. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  29. ↑ Choy, Bong-youn (1971). Korea: A History. Tuttle Publishing. p. 352. ISBN 9781462912483.
  30. ↑ Oh, John Kie-chiang (1999). Korean Politics: The Quest for Democratization and Economic Development. Cornell University Press. p. 43. ISBN 0801484588.
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