Goryeo general who killed Choe Gwang-su in Seogyeong; listed in the loyalty section of Goryeosa
| Life | 1233 |
| Era | 고려 후기 |
| Clan | 청주 정씨 |
Jeong Ui (?-1233) was a Goryeo military officer from Cheongju, early name Jeong Jun-yu. His father was the company commander Jeong Hyo-mun and his wife was a daughter of Baek I-sin of Jeokseong Baek. He killed Choe Gwang-su, who had risen in Seogyeong in the name of restoring Goguryeo, and rose to general.
In 1217, while a clerk at the Seogyeong office, Khitan remnants invaded and the government ordered Seogyeong's military commander Choe Yu-gong and others to rescue the five armies. Choe Yu-gong's extortion alienated the soldiers, and a soldier named Choe Gwang-su rose, calling himself commander for the revival of old Goguryeo. Jeong Ui lived in the same village and knew him; he went to his quarters with ten or so men, including the captains Kim Eok, Baek Yu and Pil Hyeon-bo, and killed him.
King Gojong skipped him up to acting mid-ranking general and gave him official dress and a horse. He rose through general and vice-minister to grand general, and when Pil Hyeon-bo and Hong Bok-won rebelled in Seogyeong in 1233, he was sent as a persuader but refused to yield and was killed.
In the early thirteenth century Goryeo was unsettled by Khitan remnants and military-regime oppression. Choe Gwang-su, a soldier of Seogyeong (Pyongyang), gathered troops in the name of reviving Goguryeo, and Jeong Ui removed him early and prevented its spread. It is explained that being from the same village made it easier for Jeong Ui to approach him. For this he rose within the military ranks and was even attached to the royal attendants.
In 1233, after the second Mongol invasion, Pil Hyeon-bo and Hong Bok-won rebelled in Seogyeong, and the court sent Jeong Ui, who was close to Pil, as a persuader. Pil tried to win him over as their commander, but he refused to yield and was killed. Pil Hyeon-bo had been among those who killed Choe Gwang-su with him, which makes the story more tragic.
The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture holds that Jeong Ui was the first Cheongju Jeong entered in the loyalty section (chungui) of the Goryeosa biographies, raising the family's standing. He entered office through military posts like his forebears, and his grandson Jeong Hae rose by the civil examination to chancellery councillor, which can be seen as a turning point as the family moved from military to civil officials.
The location of his grave was not confirmed.
His grandson Jeong Hae rose to chancellery councillor.