Left State Councillor under Kings Seonjo and Gwanghaegun; honored as an upright official
| Life | 1548 ~ 1622 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 청송 심씨 |
Sim Hui-su (沈喜壽, 1548–1622) was a mid-Joseon official of the Cheongsong Sim clan, with the courtesy name Baekgu, the pen names Ilsong and Suroeruin and the posthumous title Munjeong. A great-grandson of Sim Sun-mun, grandson of Sim Bong-won and son of Sim Geon, he was a grand-nephew of Sim Yeon-won and Sim Tong-won and a disciple of No Su-sin.
He entered the National Academy in 1570 and represented it at Yi Hwang's funeral that year. He passed a special civil examination in 1572 and was chosen for paid study leave in 1583. In 1589 he tried to keep the Jeong Yeo-rip treason case from widening, and in 1591 he received a Japanese embassy at Dongnae.
In the Imjin War of 1592 he escorted King Seonjo to Uiju, rising to chief royal secretary and Inspector-General, and his fluent Chinese made him the court's host to Ming envoys. As Minister of Punishments and of Taxation he long accompanied the Ming commander Song Yingchang in the northwest and persuaded him to help feed the starving there. In 1599 he became Minister of Personnel and Grand Academician, then Right State Councillor, and he was honored as an upright official. He became Left State Councillor in 1606 and blocked Seonjo's plan to posthumously elevate his own father as contrary to ritual.
Under Gwanghaegun he opposed the execution of Prince Imhae and, with Yi Hang-bok and Yi Deok-hyeong, resisted moves against Grand Prince Yeongchang in 1613; he also saved Jeong On from death for criticizing Yeongchang's killing. Forced out in 1615 after a dispute with Heo Gyun, he withdrew to Dunjisan when the court moved to depose the queen dowager, reading the Book of Changes and keeping his integrity.
Clan sources tell how, though a state councillor, he owned only a crumbling house, so the king sent him a horse to sell for repairs, and Im Bang's Cheonyerok preserves the tale of his youthful romance with the courtesan Iltahong. His writings survive as the Ilsongjip, and he was enshrined at Bongamsa shrine in Sangju.