Lee Wan-koo (; 16 July 1950 – 14 October 2021) was a South Korean politician who briefly served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

in 2015.

Biography

Lee was born in 1950 in , Cheongyang, South Chungcheong Province. After graduating from

Sungkyunkwan University Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU or simply ''Seongdae'', Hangul: 성균관대학교; Hanja: 成均館大學校) is a private comprehensive research university in South Korea. The institution traces its origins to the historic Sungkyunkwan, found ...

, Lee worked as a public officer in the Economic Planning Board (current Ministry of Strategy and Finance) and later moved to the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

. From 1982 to 1984, he studied at Michigan State University in the United States and received an M. A. in Criminal Justice. From 1986 to 1989, Lee served as Consul for the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. In 1995, Lee entered into politics, joining the Democratic Liberal Party (later renamed as the New Korea Party). In the 1996 election, he was elected as a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

for the New Korea Party. In 1998, he joined the

United Liberal Democrats The United Liberal Democrats ( ko, 자유민주연합, Yayuminjuyeonhab, Liberal Democratic Union, ULD) was a right-wing conservative political party in South Korea, whose support mostly came from the North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong regi ...

, led by

Kim Jong-pil Kim Jong-pil (; ; January 7, 1926 – June 23, 2018), also known colloquially as JP, was a South Korean politician and the founder/first director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA, now the National Intelligence Service). He s ...

. In the 2006 election, he was elected as the governor of

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청남도, ''Chungcheongnam-do''), also known as Chungnam, is a province of South Korea. South Chungcheong has a population of 2,059,871 (2014) and has a geographic area of 8,204 km2 (3,168 sq mi) located in ...

. He resigned as governor on 23 December 2009, as a protest against the Lee Myung-bak government. Lee was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of

blood cancer Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all ...

. After recovering, he was re-elected as a member of the

in a 2013 by-election. In May 2014, he became the floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party.

Prime Minister of South Korea

On 23 January 2015, President

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

named Lee, at the time parliamentary floor leader, as prime minister. Lee was confirmed by the

as Prime Minister on 16 February 2015; the National Assembly voted with 148 Yes, 128 No, with 5 Abstained. On 20 April 2015, Lee offered to resign as Prime Minister, amid allegations of bribery. He formally stepped down on 27 April 2015, apologizing over a scandal in which he was accused of taking an illegal cash gift from Sung Wan-jong, a businessman.Choe Sang-hun (27 April 2015)
"South Korea’s Premier Resigns After Claims He Took an Illegal Cash Gift".
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Retrieved 27 April 2015. President Park Geun-hye accepted Lee's resignation.

Conviction

In January 2016, he was convicted of taking illegal funds by the Seoul Central District Court. However, in September 2016, he was acquitted by the Seoul High Court. On 2017, the Supreme Court upheld the Seoul High Court's acquittal of Lee.

Death

In 2016, Lee's cancer returned. He died on 14 October 2021, due to multiple myeloma, at the age of 71. He died about two weeks before former President Roh Tae Woo died on October 26, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Wan-koo 1950 births 2021 deaths 20th-century South Korean politicians 21st-century South Korean politicians Deaths from multiple myeloma Government ministers of South Korea Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) People from South Chungcheong Province Prime Ministers of South Korea Governors of South Chungcheong Province Sungkyunkwan University alumni United Liberal Democrats politicians Michigan State University alumni Dankook University alumni