Chief State Councillor under Kings Jeongjo and Sunjo; leader of the Noron Byeokpa
| Life | 1730 ~ 1802 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 청송 심씨 |
Sim Hwan-ji (沈煥之, 1730–1802) was a late-Joseon official under Kings Jeongjo and Sunjo, of the Cheongsong Sim clan, with the courtesy name Hwiwon, the pen name Manpo and the posthumous title Munchung. A descendant of Sim On and Sim Gang through Sim In-gyeom, elder brother of Sim Ui-gyeom, he led the Byeokpa wing of the Noron faction and served as Right, Left and Chief State Councillor.
After passing the civil examination in 1771 he served mostly as a censor, speaking so uncompromisingly for principle that he was exiled several times. From 1793 he served as Vice Minister of Personnel, academician of the Royal Library and Minister of Personnel, War and Punishments. With Kim Jong-su and Yun Si-dong he upheld the Noron's historical cause and attacked the Southerners Chae Je-gong, Yi Ga-hwan and Yi Seung-hun and the Soron Seo Myeong-seon, becoming the vanguard of the Byeokpa. He became Right State Councillor in 1798 and Left State Councillor the next year.
When the boy king Sunjo took the throne in 1800 under the regency of Queen Dowager Jeongsun, he became Chief State Councillor and dominated the government as regent-minister. In the 1801 persecution he purged Catholics together with large numbers of Southerners and rival Noron, and he abolished the Jangyongyeong, the royal guard Jeongjo had created. He died in 1802; after the political tide turned he was stripped of his offices in 1806, and he was rehabilitated in 1864.
Long remembered simply as Jeongjo's opponent, he drew wide attention in 2009 when an album of the king's secret letters to him came to light, showing that Jeongjo consulted him in advance on major issues. Though criticized as a partisan, he was praised for living frugally to the end, and his portrait was designated a Treasure in 2006.