First-class merit subject under King Gongmin, Prince of Seowon; middle founder of the Seolheon line, pen name Seolheon
| Era | 고려 후기 |
| Clan | 청주 정씨 |
Jeong O (鄭䫨) was a late-Goryeo civil official from Cheongju, courtesy name Sagyeom, pen name Seolheon (雪軒), posthumous title Mungeuk. A grandson of the councillor Jeong Hae and son of the minister Jeong Chaek, he is the middle founder of the Seolheon line. His dates were not confirmed here.
He passed the examination and in 1330 managed personnel as a Seonggyun official, then became a censor, but the next year was jailed and flogged at the Imun Office after a palace woman, Choe An-gye, accused him of slandering the king. In 1351, the accession year of King Gongmin, he became Dongji Mipjik and the next year Ji Mipjik, and was named a first-class merit subject for escorting the king in Yuan.
In 1354 he rose to deliberative councillor and was enfeoffed as Prince of Seowon, later receiving a merit title, and was appointed Confucian commissioner of the Eastern Expedition Secretariat by Yuan. With his younger brother Jeong Po he inherited farmland in Andong and moved to Hoegok-ri, Pungsan, becoming the first Cheongju Jeong settler in Andong.
King Gongmin stayed long in Yuan before taking the Goryeo throne in 1351. Jeong O became Dongji Mipjik around then and was named first-class merit subject the following year for escorting the king in Yuan, showing that he earned trust as a minister between Yuan and Goryeo in a period of strong Mongol influence.
The tradition that Jeong O and Jeong Po moved to Hoegok-ri in Pungsan, Andong, is understood as the start of the clan's ties with northern Gyeongbuk. The Seolheon line later spread through Andong, Yecheon, Mungyeong and Yeongju, and Yakpo Jeong Tak (鄭琢) and Jeong Sa-seong of Andong are counted among its members. Wikipedia counts Seolheon and Seolgok as seventh generation, though generation counts differ by source.
In 1331 a palace woman's accusation that he slandered the king landed him in the Imun Office, where he was flogged. The Imun Office was a judicial body attached to the Yuan-appointed secretariat, also used to punish Goryeo officials, showing how exposed ministers were to such charges.
The location of his grave was not confirmed.
The Seolheon line settled across northern Gyeongbuk, including Andong, Yecheon, Mungyeong and Yeongju.