Brother of Queen Inhyeon, leader of the Noron under Gyeongjong and Yeongjo, Left State Councillor; pen name Danam, posthumous title Munchung
| Life | 1664 ~ 1736 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 여흥 민씨 |
Min Jin-won (1664-1736) was a late Joseon civil official and in-law from Yeoheung, with courtesy name Seongyu, pen names Danam and Sesim, and posthumous title Munchung. A son of Min Yu-jung, younger brother of Min Jin-hu and the second elder brother of Queen Inhyeon, he was the sixth-generation ancestor of Empress Sunmyeong and a collateral fifth-generation ancestor of Empress Myeongseong.
He passed the 1691 special examination but was not employed because of the aftermath of Queen Inhyeon's deposition in the 1689 Gisa Hwanguk; after the queen's restoration in the 1694 Gapsul Hwanguk he served as Geomyeol, Jeongeon and Suchan and acted as a Noron. As Governor of Jeolla Province in 1703 he is said to have curbed the multiplication of private academies as a drain on local finances and a cause of factionalism. He later served as Magistrate of Ganghwa, Vice Minister of Rites, Governor of Pyeongan and Minister in several ministries.
After Min Jin-hu died in 1720 and Gyeongjong took the throne, he rose as the effective Noron leader on the strength of being the king's legal uncle. Backing the four Noron ministers, he pressed for Prince Yeoning (later Yeongjo) to be named royal brother-heir, provoking the Soron, and when the Noron fell in the 1721 Sinim purge he was exiled to Seongju. After Yeongjo took the throne in 1725 he was released, became Right and Left State Councillor and chief compiler of the Sukjong Sillok, but opposing the policy of impartiality and calling for the removal of the Soron, he was dismissed in the 1727 Jeongmi Hwanguk. After Yi In-jwa's rebellion of 1728 he was recalled and became Yeongjungchubu-sa, and died in 1736. His writings include the Danam Juui, Danam Manrok and Yeonhaengnok, and he is said to be enshrined in Yeongjo's hall.
His politics were judged excessively partisan and his language extreme. He opposed Yeongjo's impartiality policy, yet after Yi In-jwa's rebellion deepened Yeongjo's distrust of the Soron, the king recalled him on the strength of being the queen's kinsman. This double position as in-law and faction leader shaped his life. His family included father Min Yu-jung, stepmother Lady Deoksu Yi, elder brother Min Jin-hu and sons Min Chang-su, Min Hyeong-su and Min Tong-su.
He clashed with the Soron by pressing, with the four Noron ministers (Kim Chang-jip, Jo Tae-chae, Yi I-myeong and Yi Geon-myeong), for Prince Yeoning to be named royal brother-heir, and was exiled to Seongju in the 1721 Sinim purge.
Early in Yeongjo's reign he became Right and Left State Councillor and demanded the rehabilitation of the four Noron ministers, but was dismissed in 1727 for opposing impartiality; after Yi In-jwa's rebellion he was recalled. His father was Min Yu-jung.
The location of his tomb could not be confirmed in this research.
Said to be a sixth-generation ancestor of Empress Sunmyeong and Min Yeong-ik.