Late Goryeo royal secretary, Inspector-General and Second Commissioner of the Privy Council; founder of the Daejehak-gong branch
| Life | 1355 ~ 1392 |
| Era | 고려 말 |
| Clan | 단양 우씨 |
U Hong-su (1355-1392) was a late Goryeo civil official of the Danyang clan, eldest son of U Hyeon-bo and founder of the Daejehak-gong branch of the Danyang U clan. He served as royal secretary (jisinsa), Inspector-General, and Associate and Second Commissioner of the Privy Council.
He passed the civil examination in 1377 and was made rangjang and concurrent Seonggyun professor. Through various posts he became jisinsa, the secretary handling royal orders, and Inspector-General, and early under King Chang was appointed Associate Commissioner of the Privy Council. Implicated in the 1389 Kim Jeo affair, which aimed to remove Yi Seong-gye and restore King U, he was exiled to Inju in 1390. Pardoned, he was made Second Commissioner in 1391, but after Jeong Mong-ju was killed in 1392 he was dismissed as a member of that faction and barred from office for life.
After the founding of Joseon, when Goryeo loyalists were tried, he was exiled to Jeolla and died after being flogged there. His youngest brother U Hong-myeong, exiled to Jeolla, and third brother U Hong-deuk, exiled to Gangwon, are recorded as also beaten to death by Jeong Do-jeon. His son U Seong-beom became son-in-law of King Gongyang and was beheaded the same year, while another son, U Seung-beom, served in Joseon as vice-minister of several ministries and died in 1438. His fate contrasts with that of his father, restored later and made Earl of Danyang, and illustrates the tragedy of the dynastic transition.
As for his family, his wife was a daughter of Yun Dong-myeong of the Musong Yun clan, and his sons are recorded as U Seong-beom, U Seung-beom, U Heung-beom and U Hui-beom. The wife of the eldest, Seong-beom, Princess Jeongsin, was the second daughter of King Gongyang, and Seong-beom's son-in-law is recorded as Jeong Yeon, who became father-in-law of Grand Prince Anpyeong. In this way the Daejehak-gong line is tied to the royal house.
He passed the examination in 1377, served concurrently as Seonggyun professor, became jisinsa and Inspector-General, and rose to Associate Commissioner of the Privy Council early under King Chang.
He was implicated in the Kim Jeo affair of 1389, dismissed in 1392 as part of Jeong Mong-ju's faction, and after the founding of Joseon exiled to Jeolla and flogged to death. His brother U Hong-gang rose high under the new dynasty, so the brothers' fates diverged sharply.
The location of his tomb was not confirmed in the sources used here.
His sons were U Seong-beom (son-in-law of King Gongyang), U Seung-beom, U Heung-beom and U Hui-beom; U Gye-in is recorded as a son of U Seong-beom.