Chief State Councillor under King Hyeonjong, from the Namyang-gun branch
| Life | 1608 ~ 1668 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 남양 홍씨 |
Hong Myeong-ha (洪命夏, 1608–1668) was a late Joseon civil official whose courtesy name was Daei, pen name Gicheon and posthumous title Mungan. He belonged to the Namyang-gun branch of the Danghong line. His great-grandfather was Hong Chun-gyeong, his grandfather Hong Seong-min and his father Hong Seo-ik. His father-in-law was Sin Ik-seong, husband of King Seonjo's daughter Princess Jeongsuk.
He passed the licentiate examination in 1630, a special civil examination in 1644 and the higher re-examination in 1646. After serving in the censorate and the Office of Special Advisors, he was sent out in 1649 as a secret royal inspector and won praise for exposing corrupt officials.
He became a royal secretary in 1652 and deputy mayor of Hanseong the next year, and travelled to Qing China as vice-envoy. He held vice-ministerial posts in several ministries and served as royal chief secretary, Inspector-General and Minister of Justice. Briefly dismissed when King Hyojong died in 1659, he was soon recalled and served in turn as minister of the Rites, Justice, Works, Military Affairs and Personnel ministries, chief scholar and mayor of Hanseong.
He became Right State Councillor in 1663, travelled again to Qing as an envoy the next year, and rose through Left State Councillor to Chief State Councillor. When a Qing envoy came to reproach the king, he answered firmly and sent him back, earning King Hyeonjong's deeper trust. The Namyang-gun branch counts him among its state councillors together with Hong Seo-bong, Hong Chi-jung and Hong Sun-mok.
His elder brother was Hong Myeong-gu, and Chief State Councillor Hong Seo-bong, also a descendant of Hong Chun-gyeong, was his father's cousin. His wife, a daughter of Sin Ik-seong and Princess Jeongsuk, bore him two sons, Hong Seok-bo and Hong Won-bo, and a daughter; he later remarried a woman of the Namwon Yun clan. These ties are recorded in the royal genealogy Seonwonrok.