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His Excellency the Right Honourable
Lee Beom-seok
His Excellency the Right Honourable Lee Beom-seok
이범석
1st Prime Minister of South Korea
	In office; July 31, 1948 – April 20, 1950
President	Syngman Rhee
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Shin Sung-mo (acting)
Member of the House of Councillors of the Republic of Korea; (5th National Assembly)
	In office; August 8, 1960 – May 16, 1961
President	Yun Po Sun
Personal details
Born	October 20, 1900; Hwangseong, Korean Empire; (now Seoul, South Korea)
Died	May 11, 1972 (aged 71); Seoul, South Korea
Spouse	Kim Maria
Military service
Allegiance	Korean Provisional Government; South Korea
Branch/service	Korean Liberation Army
Rank	General
Korean name
Hangul	이범석
Hanja	李範奭
Revised Romanization	I Beom-seok
McCune–Reischauer	Yi Pŏmsŏk
Art name
Hangul	철기
Hanja	鐵驥
Revised Romanization	Cheolgi
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ŏlgi

Lee Beom-seok (Korean: 이범석; October 20, 1900 – May 11, 1972), also known by his art name Cheolgi, was a Korean independence activist and the first prime minister of South Korea from 1948 to 1950.^[1] He also headed the Korean National Youth Association.^[2]

Early life

Lee Beom-seok on October 20, 1900 was born in Gyeongseong (now Seoul), Korean Empire. Lee's father was an officer. He was a descendant of Sejong the Great's son Gwangpyeong Daegun (광평대군; 廣平大君).^[3]

Career in exile

Lee and thousands of other Korean independence activists went into exile in the Republic of China after the violent suppression by the Japanese of the March 1st Movement.

In 1919, he started studying at the Shinheung military academy (Korean: 신흥무관학교; Hanja: 新興武官學校), which was created to build an army to fight for independence. Soon after, Lee fought in the Battle of Cheongsanni, a six-day engagement in eastern Manchuria.

In 1941, he served as a general and chief of staff in the Korean Liberation Army, the army of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. He was also instrumental in negotiating with the US Office of Strategic Services to create the Eagle Project, a joint mission with the Provisional Government to infiltrate occupied Korea during World War II.

In 1945, Lee attempted to return to Korea but was forced to remain in exile in China.

Career after liberation of Korea

In 1946, he returned to Korea and helped found the Korean National Youth Association with Ahn Ho-sang.^[4] He was opposed to Kim Ku's South-North negotiations (남북협상; 南北協商) and allied himself with Lee Syng-man to establish a unitary government in South Korea. He served as the new country's first prime minister from July 31, 1948 to April 20, 1950.

Following his term in office, Lee Beom-seok served as the Korean Ambassador to the Republic of China, and as Secretary of the Interior. He ran for the vice presidency in 1952, and again in 1956, but failed to win either election. Throughout the 1960s, he remained a staunch opposition leader to the ruling party.^[5] At the end of his career, Lee served as an adviser on the Board of National Unification (국토통일원; 國土統一院) and mentored Park Chung-Hee as an elder of the nation.

On May 10, 1972, he was granted a honorary doctorate by the Taiwan Chinese Academy.

Death

He died on May 11, 1972, a day after receiving his honorary degree. He died of a myocardial infarction in the Seongmo hospital of Myeong-dong in Seoul. His state funeral was held in the Square of Namsan Mountain on May 17, and he was buried in Seoul National Cemetery.^[6]

Bibliography

Udungbul (우둥불)
Bangrangui Jeong-yeol (Passion of Wandering; 방랑의 정열)
Hangug-ui Bunno (Rage of Korea; 한국의 분노)
Minjok Gwa Cheongnyeon (Nationality and the Youth; 민족과 청년)
Hyeoljeon: Cheongsanni Jakjeon (Bloody battle: Strategy of Cheongsanni; 혈전: 청산리 작전)
Tomsk-ui Haneul Arae (Under the Tomsk's Sky; 톰스크의 하늘아래)

References

^ Yahu! Baekgwasajeon 야후! 백과사전 [Yahoo! Encyclopedia], s.v. "Lee Beom-seok" 이범석, "올인올 통합사전-언제 어디서나 Alt + Click 하자!". Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
^ Carter J. Eckert, Ki-baik Lee, Young Ick Lew, Michael Robinson, and Edward W. Wagner, Korea Old and New: A History (Seoul: Ilchokak / Korea Institute, Harvard University, 1990), 351.
^ "철기 이범석 장군 기념사업회('Chulgi' Lee Beom-seok General's Anniversary) : Lee Beom-Seok(이범석)". Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
^ "네이버캐스트 : 이범석(Lee Beom-seok)".
^ "인물로 보는 항일무장투쟁사(Armed Resistance against Japanese seeing human) : 역사문제연구소(Research Institute of Historical Problems), 1995, 73p". {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^ "혼돈의 해방공간서 자유민주주의의 초석을 놓다(Put the basis of Liberal Democracy in Chaotic place) : 동아일보(Dong-A newspaper), 2008. 08. 22". {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)

Site web

Lee Beom-seok Memorial museum (in Korean)
Lee Beom-seok (in Korean)

Preceded by Office created	Prime Minister of South Korea 1948–1950	Succeeded by Shin Sung-mo (acting)
Preceded by Office created	Minister of National Defence of South Korea 1948–1949	Succeeded by Shin Sung-mo
Preceded by Chnag Seok-yun	Interior Minister of South Korea 1952	Succeeded by Kim Tae-sun