Queen consort of King Myeongjong; regent after King Seonjo's accession
| Life | 1532 ~ 1575 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 청송 심씨 |
Queen Insun (仁順王后, 1532–1575) was the consort of King Myeongjong, thirteenth king of Joseon, and belonged to the Cheongsong Sim clan; her full posthumous title is Seonyeol Uiseong Insun Wanghu. Her father was Sim Gang, Prince Cheongneung, her mother a descendant of Grand Prince Hyoryeong, and her grandfather Chief State Councillor Sim Yeon-won. A sixth-generation descendant of Sim On, she was the second queen from the clan.
In 1542 she married Grand Prince Gyeongwon, son of King Jungjong and Queen Munjeong, and when he succeeded King Injong as Myeongjong in 1545 she became queen. She bore Crown Prince Sunhoe in 1551, but he died young in 1563.
When Myeongjong died without an heir in 1567, she, as senior member of the royal family, chose Prince Haseong, third son of Prince Deokheung, who became King Seonjo; she reinforced his claim by producing a sealed letter in which the ailing Myeongjong had named him in 1565. As Seonjo was only sixteen, she acted as regent at the request of Chief State Councillor Yi Jun-gyeong but stepped down after eight months, and in 1569 she received the honorific title Uiseong.
She died in 1575 in the Tongmyeongjeon hall of Changgyeonggung Palace, aged 44. She rests with Myeongjong at Gangneung in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, near Taereung, the tomb of her mother-in-law Queen Munjeong.
Her younger brother Sim Ui-gyeom led the Westerners at the factional split, and another brother, Sim Chung-gyeom, served as Minister of War in the Imjin War and was named a Hoseong Merit Subject. Her father Sim Gang was praised for driving out the powerful minister Yi Ryang in 1563 and protecting young scholars such as Bak Sun. Clan records say Queens Soheon and Insun both sent officials to plant pines on Bogwangsan in Cheongsong, site of the founder's tomb, and had the district guard it.
She is buried with King Myeongjong in twin mounds at Gangneung, Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul.
Her only son, Crown Prince Sunhoe (1551–1563), died young, leaving no heir.