Elder statesman of the late Joseon period who served as Chief State Councillor across the reigns from King Sunjo to King Gojong
| Life | 1783 ~ 1873 |
| Era | 조선 |
| Clan | 동래 정씨 |
Jeong Won-yong was a late Joseon official who passed the civil service examination in 1802 and went on to serve four kings, Sunjo, Heonjong, Cheoljong, and Gojong, rising through the offices of State Councillor of the Right and Left to Chief State Councillor. Over his long career he was regarded as a senior statesman who steered the affairs of state as a whole.
When King Heonjong died in 1849 without an heir, Jeong, as a senior minister, was entrusted with escorting Yi Won-beom (the future King Cheoljong), then living in exile on Ganghwa Island, back to the capital, and led the process by which he was adopted as King Sunjo's heir and placed on the throne. Jeong worked to correct the corruption of the three administrations of land, military service, and grain-loan taxes and to reorganize state finances, and in his later years was also involved in the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace under the Heungseon Daewongun.
From 1802 until his death he kept the diary Gyeongsan Illok, spanning some seventy years, considered one of the longest personal diaries known anywhere in the world.
Noonsa-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do (buried together with his wife of the Gangneung Kim clan)
His son Jeong Gi-se served as Minister of Personnel, and his grandson Jeong Beom-jo served as Right State Councillor.