Official under Sejo and Seongjong who served as Chief Royal Secretary, Minister of Punishments and Personnel; eldest brother of Seong Hyeon; courtesy name Jungyeong, pen name Iljae
| Life | 1421 ~ 1484 |
| Era | 조선 전기 |
| Clan | 창녕 성씨 |
Seong Im (1421-1484) was an early-Joseon official whose seat was Changnyeong; his courtesy name was Jungyeong (仲卿) and his pen name Iljae (一齋) or Anjae (安齋). His great-grandfather was Seong Seok-in, his grandfather Seong Eom, deputy commissioner of the Privy Council, and his father Seong Yeom-jo, commissioner of the Privy Council; his younger brother was Seong Hyeon (Yongjae), later Minister of Rites, and his nephew was Left State Councillor Seong Se-chang. He was related to Chief State Councillor Seong Jun within the same house.
He passed the civil examination under King Sejong and became a record clerk in 1448 and registrar of the Sungkyunkwan in 1450. Under King Sejo he was named an original-subject merit official and rose to section chief of the Ministry of Rites; in 1457 he served as an annalist of the Office of Annals, and in 1458 he reached senior rank as assistant commissioner of the Privy Council. Beginning with junior royal secretary in 1459, he served through right and left royal secretary and became Chief Royal Secretary in 1460, vice minister of personnel in 1461 and of works in 1462. In 1464 he went out as governor of Jeolla Province and returned as vice minister of punishments; in 1466, after serving as vice minister of revenue, he became Minister of Punishments and entered the highest ministerial ranks.
After becoming commissioner of the Privy Council in 1467 he served as Minister of Personnel, and after King Yejong's accession took on the duties of a receiving envoy (seonwisa). Under King Seongjong he became Minister of Works in 1471 and went to the Ming a second time as congratulatory envoy, then served as governor of Gaeseong in 1476 and as left assistant of the State Council in 1482 before returning to the Privy Council. He died of illness in 1484. His tomb is in Naepo-ri, Munsan-eup, Paju, and his spirit-path stele, set up in 1500 under Yeonsangun, has text by Hong Gwi-dal and calligraphy and seal-script heading by An Sim, with lotus patterns incised around its edges, a rare feature. With his younger brother Hyeon he represented the house's literary tradition, though his own calligraphy could not be confirmed here.
The spirit-path stele stands about twenty metres below the tomb enclosure, and its incised lotus patterns around the edges are noted as unusual for such steles. Becoming Minister of Punishments in 1466 and entering the highest ministerial ranks was the major turning point of his career, after which he served as Minister of Personnel and of Works.
Seong Im was the eldest brother and Seong Hyeon the third, and his nephew Seong Se-chang became Left State Councillor. Seong Jun, of the cousin generation, became Chief State Councillor, showing that the Seok-in line stood at the center of the court in the late fifteenth century.
His tomb complex is in Naepo-ri, Munsan-eup, Paju, with two mounds, offering tables, a stone lantern, military-official statues and a marker, designated Paju Local Cultural Heritage No. 17 on 21 December 2001.
His younger brother Seong Hyeon and nephew Seong Se-chang are recorded; his own children and direct descendants could not be confirmed here.