Merit subject of the 1506 coup that placed King Jungjong on the throne; Chief State Councillor; courtesy name Uong, pen name Injae, posthumous title Chungjeong
| Life | 1461 ~ 1513 |
| Era | 조선 전기 |
| Clan | 창녕 성씨 |
Seong Hui-an (1461-1513) was an early-Joseon official whose seat was Changnyeong; his courtesy name was Uong (愚翁), pen name Injae (仁齋) and posthumous title Chungjeong (忠定). His great-great-grandfather was Seong Sa-dal, great-grandfather Seong Bu, grandfather Seong Hyo-yeon and father Seong Chan, a magistrate of the Royal Kin Office; his mother was a daughter of Yi Hu-saeng, Prince Deokcheon, tenth son of King Jeongjong. His wife was a daughter of Jo Ik-sang of the Pungyang Jo clan, and his eldest son was Seong Yul.
He passed the licentiate examination in 1480 and the special civil examination in the second class in 1485, becoming a proofreader of the Hongmungwan and later serving as assistant compiler and chief of the Office of Hospitality. In 1499 he served as aide to the commander of the western campaign Yi Gye-jeon, and in 1503 went to the Ming as deputy envoy of thanks and then became vice minister of punishments. In 1504, while serving as vice minister of personnel, he offered the king a poem that satirized Yeonsangun and was demoted to an honorary post.
In 1506 he plotted the coup with Bak Won-jong and Yu Sun-jeong, mobilized troops through Sin Yun-mu, Bak Yeong-mun and Hong Gyeong-ju, and placed Grand Prince Jinseong (Jungjong) on the throne. For this he was named a first-class Jeonggug merit subject and enfeoffed as Prince Changsan, and in 1507 became commander of the Office of Inquiry and chief supervisor of the compilation of the Yeonsangun ilgi. After serving as Minister of Punishments and Personnel and inspector-general, he became Right State Councillor in 1509, served concurrently as commander-in-chief and Minister of War in the Samp'o Japanese disturbance, was Left State Councillor, and in 1513 became Chief State Councillor, dying the same year. Korean Wikipedia judges that he was learned, that though a merit subject he did not live extravagantly, that he yielded offices to other merit subjects and refused advice to place a daughter or niece in the palace, but it also records that he was said to have taken bribes just after the coup and was impeached for favoring military men to the detriment of scholarly standards. After his death he was enshrined in King Jungjong's spirit hall.
It is often explained that the demotion over the poem satirizing Yeonsangun in 1504 firmed his resolve. After he and others placed Jungjong on the throne in 1506 he worked to put the court in order; coming after the death of Seong Jun of the same house under Yeonsangun, his story shows both the highs and lows of the clan.
The location of his tomb could not be confirmed here.
Korean Wikipedia's family section lists his son Seong Yul, grandson Seong Su-cheol and others.