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Lee Hong-koo, former prime minister, dies at 92

Published: 05 May. 2026, 18:20 Updated: 05 May. 2026, 18:51

Former Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo speaks during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Sept. 5, 2022. [JUN MIN-KYU]

Lee Hong-koo, a scholar-turned-statesman who helped shape South Korea's democratic transition and inter-Korean policy across multiple administrations, died Tuesday. He was 92.

Lee, who served as prime minister under President Kim Young-sam from 1994 to 1995, was widely regarded as a rare consensus figure in South Korean politics — a man who moved with ease between academia, diplomacy and government, and who was trusted by leaders across the political spectrum.

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Born in 1934 in Kaesong in what is now North Korea, Lee came of age during a period of profound upheaval, witnessing the political turmoil that followed the country's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 and enduring the 1950-53 Korean War as a high school student.

He initially enrolled at Seoul National University but left after a year to study in the United States, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Emory University and a doctorate in political science from Yale University.

He later reflected that he had been driven to "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."

Lee returned to South Korea in 1968, sensing that the global order was shifting. "As I saw the wave of democratization gaining strength, I felt that the end of the Cold War was not far off," he recalled. "We, too, needed to prepare for the post–Cold War era and for democratization before it was too late."

He joined the faculty at Seoul National University the following year, where he taught political science for two decades and emerged as one of the country's leading scholars in the field. A former student, the political scientist Baek Young-chul, later described him as "the foremost political scientist in Korea."

Lee Hong-koo, left, sits next to then-President Roh Tae-woo at the Blue House during a meeting on March 14, 1988. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Lee's career took a decisive turn in 1988, when he entered public service under President Roh Tae-woo as chief of the Board of National Unification, the precursor of the modern Unification Ministry. Although he could have retained his professorship, he chose to resign, saying he wanted to make room for younger scholars.

Before appointing him, Roh asked Lee for guidance, and Lee responded with a 30-minute lecture arguing that "the foremost task of the era is the advancement of democratization."

Lee went on to play a central role in shaping Seoul's inter-Korean policy, helping craft the so-called National Community Unification Formula of 1989, which laid out a phased path toward reunification based on the principles of independence, peace and democracy.

He later served as a presidential political adviser and ambassador to the United Kingdom before returning to government as deputy prime minister and unification minister under Kim Young-sam. In that role, he helped bring North and South Korea to the brink of a historic summit in 1994.

Lee Hong-koo, right, talks to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during his visit to Korea on June 15, 1994. [YONHAP]

Lee met with Kim Yong-sun, a senior North Korean official, at Panmunjom and reached an agreement to hold a summit between Kim Young-sam and Kim Il Sung, although their meeting was ultimately derailed by the North Korean leader's sudden death later that year.

"It is deeply regrettable that the summit collapsed just before it could take place," Lee said in later years. "I wanted to play a role in opening a breakthrough in the stalled inter-Korean relationship."

Lee became prime minister in December 1994, a tenure marked by both ambitious reform efforts and national tragedy. He was a leading proponent of the government's globalization drive and also chaired the committee that secured South Korea's successful bid to co-host the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan.

But his time in office was overshadowed by the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in June 1995, one of the deadliest peacetime disasters in the country's history. Lee later reflected on the period with characteristic restraint.

"I feel more responsibility than achievement," he said at a press conference after stepping down.

Then-Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo visits a survivor of the Sampoong Department Store collapse on June 29, 1995. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

After leaving the premiership, Lee entered electoral politics, serving as a lawmaker and briefly seeking his party's presidential nomination. But he grew disillusioned with what he saw as a lack of substantive policy debate.

"I waited for candidates to challenge my policies, but not a single person raised a meaningful issue," he said. "I lamented a political reality consumed only by factional strife."

In 1998, amid the Asian financial crisis, President Kim Dae-jung asked Lee to serve as ambassador to the United States. Despite political sensitivities, Lee accepted after a personal appeal from Kim.

"Despite personal difficulties, I decided to help President Kim Dae-jung save a country standing on the edge of a precipice," he said. "From early morning until evening, I met key figures across the United States and persuaded them to support Korea."

After returning to Seoul in 2000, Lee remained active as a public intellectual, serving as an adviser to the JoongAng Ilbo and writing columns on politics and inter-Korean relations. He also played a leading role in dialogue forums that brought together conservatives and progressives, advocating for constitutional reform to better distribute presidential power.

"Distributing the president's immense authority and responsibility would, in fact, strengthen the overall power of the state," he often argued.

Colleagues and journalists remembered him as a generous mentor. He was known to call reporters personally after reading their work, offering encouragement and advice.

"That was an excellent article. Journalists should write more pieces like that," he once told a junior reporter. "If you ever have questions or need anything, come to my office."

Lee is survived by his wife, Park Han-ok, two daughters, a son and several grandchildren.

A funeral altar has been set up at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. Visitation began at 3 p.m. Tuesday, with a funeral service scheduled for Friday morning.

He is due to be buried at Cheonan Park Cemetery.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HEO JIN [[email protected]]