Three-time Chief State Councillor and leader of the moderate Southerners; pen names Mukjae and Hyuong; posthumous title Sukheon
| Life | 1610 ~ 1680 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 양천 허씨 |
Heo Jeok (1610-1680) was a late-Joseon official of the Yangcheon Heo clan, with courtesy name Yeocha and pen names Mukjae and Hyuong. He is said to have been born at Goedong-ri, Eomjeong-myeon, Jungwon County, Chungcheong (today's Chungju). His father was Heo Han, who served as magistrate of Yecheon and Icheon; his mother was of the Andong Kim clan, and his grandfather Heo Jam was a chief commissioner. His illegitimate sons were Heo Gyeon and Heo Hu; he is described as a twelfth cousin of Heo Mok and a relative by marriage of Song Jun-gil.
After passing the special civil examination in 1637 he served as archivist, Hongmungwan editor and inspector, and in 1640-41 as Pyeongan clerk and magistrate of Uiju. After serving as governor of Gyeongsang, Jeolla and Pyeongan, inspector-general and minister of revenue and punishments, he became Right State Councillor in 1664 and was Chief State Councillor three times, in 1664, 1671 and 1674. When King Hyeonjong died in 1674 he ran the government as senior regent councillor (wonsang).
In the first ritual dispute of 1659 he argued for three years of mourning for King Hyojong and lost to the one-year view; in the second dispute of 1674 he argued for one year of mourning on the rule for an eldest daughter-in-law, which was adopted and led to the Southerners taking power. He is regarded as leader of the moderate Tak-nam faction of the Southerners, and is said to have taken a moderate line against executing the Westerner Song Si-yeol. In 1678 he pushed for minting and circulating Sangpyeong tongbo coins to stem fiscal exhaustion.
In March 1680, at a banquet celebrating the posthumous title Chungjeong-gong given to his grandfather Heo Jam, rain fell and King Sukjong ordered an oiled tent sent; it came out that Heo Jeok had taken it first without permission, and Sukjong's anger is transmitted as the start of his fall. Then came the case of his illegitimate son Heo Gyeon, whom Kim Seok-ju, Kim Ik-hun and others accused of plotting to enthrone Prince Bokchang; Heo Jeok was put to death by poison in the 1680 Gyeongsin purge. The date of death is given as 11 May or 7 June depending on source. He was rehabilitated in 1689, stripped again in 1694, restored in 1697, stripped again in 1701, and finally restored in Jeongjo's reign (around 1795).
He lost with a three-year view in the first dispute, and his one-year view was adopted in 1674. He led the Southerners with his kinsman Heo Mok, though he is judged to have been the more moderate.
The line began with Heo Cho, a 19th-generation descendant who hid at Eomjeong, Chungju, to escape the 1519 purge; Heo Jam moved to Oryang-ri, Sotae-myeon. The ancestral shrines of Heo Han and Heo Jeok and the tombs of Heo Han, Heo Jeok and Heo Jam are there.
Even within Wikipedia, the date of death (11 May or 7 June), the grant of the staff and stool (1678 or 1679) and the date of rehabilitation (Jeongjo year 19 or 20) are written differently. This entry notes both where possible.
His tomb is at Oryang-ri, Sotae-myeon, Chungju, where a branch shrine (buzomyo) also honors him with his father Heo Han. The portraits of Heo Han and Heo Jeok are designated North Chungcheong tangible cultural properties, though the property numbers differ between sources.