Delegate of the New Korea Youth Party to Paris and post-liberation politician; his wartime collaboration is debated
| Life | 1891 ~ 1973 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 함양 여씨 |
Yeo Un-hong (呂運弘, 1891-1973) was the younger brother of the independence activist Yeo Un-hyeong, of the Hamyang Yeo, with the pen name Geunnong. He was born on 1 September 1891 in Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, graduated from Joongang School in 1909, studied in the United States from 1913, graduated in English literature from the College of Wooster in 1918, entered Princeton Theological Seminary but left and returned home. His father was Yeo Jeong-hyeon and his mother was of the Gyeongju Yi.
In 1919 he was sent to the Paris Peace Conference as delegate of the New Korea Youth Party and was elected to the Provisional Government's assembly. In 1920 he was principal of Inseong School in Shanghai and was sent to Guangzhou to deliver a letter from the Provisional Government to Sun Yat-sen. He was repeatedly watched and arrested by Japanese police.
Wikipedia writes that from 1941 he took part as a founder of the Joseon Imjeon Bogukdan and engaged in collaboration through wartime lectures, writings and roundtables. He was chosen in 2008 for the list of intended entries for the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators and is classified as an entrant, but readers should check the dictionary itself for the final status.
In 1945 he took part in the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence with his brother, and in May 1946 left the People's Party to found the Social Democratic Party. That December he was appointed to the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly and joined the left-right coalition movement with Kim Kyu-sik. In 1948 he visited Pyongyang for the North-South talks but took a passive role and returned in May.
He was elected for Yangpyeong in the 1950 2nd National Assembly election and lost in 1954 in Seoul Jongno-B. He won a seat in the House of Councillors in 1960, and stood for the Democratic Republican Party in 1963 but lost. He died in 1973 aged 81.
He is known for independence work in his youth and politics after liberation, yet criticised for collaboration late in the colonial era. The contrast within one life also shows the choices and pressures intellectuals faced.
His tomb could not be confirmed. He died on 3 February 1973 at his home in Seoul.
His sons are given as Yeo Seong-gu and Yeo Myeong-gu.