Late Goryeo civil official who placed first in the exam; founder of the Dongjeong-gong branch; executed in 1388 with the Im Gyeon-mi faction
| Life | 1388 |
| Era | 고려 말 |
| Clan | 파주 염씨 |
Yeom Heung-bang (廉興邦, ?-1388) was a late Goryeo civil official of the Paju clan, with courtesy name Jungchang and pen name Dongjeong. His father was the chief minister Yeom Je-sin; his elder brother was Yeom Guk-bo, his younger brother Yeom Jeong-su, and one of his sisters became the consort Sinbi Yeom of King Gongmin. His birth year is not recorded. He is honored as founder of the Dongjeong-gong branch.
In the fourth month of 1357 (the sixth year of King Gongmin) he placed first in the civil examination, and in 1363 as Wiwi-yun he was named a second-class merit subject for helping retake the capital from the Red Turbans. He became Mikjik Jisinsa in 1367 and then Mikjik Buksa and Mikjik Jehak, and in 1374 as Dobyeongmasa he joined Choe Yeong in suppressing the Mongol horse-herding lords (mokho) of Jeju. Just after King U's accession he opposed, with Jeong Mong-ju and others, the plan of Yi In-im and Ji Yun to receive a Northern Yuan envoy, incurring Yi In-im's anger and exile, but he was soon enfeoffed as Prince Seoseong. He is also said to have reached Grand Academician of the Yemun-gwan.
Later, however, he joined the group of Yi In-im and Im Gyeon-mi in sending household slaves to seize good land from owners by force; even official certificates were useless, so that people spoke of "wooden-tag deeds." Around 1387-88, his servant Yi Gwang took land belonging to Jo Ban of Baekju and insulted him; Jo Ban, enraged, led troops and killed Yi Gwang, and Yeom Heung-bang branded this a rebellion and had Jo Ban's family arrested and severely tortured. When the matter reached King U and Choe Yeong, Jo Ban was freed in the first month of 1388 and Yeom Heung-bang was jailed; he was executed along with Im Gyeon-mi, Yeom Jeong-su and others, and his relatives suffered too. This is the Musin purge, which opened the way for the Yi Seong-gye faction to take the lead.
The Goryeosa records that a household slave seized land and that Jo Ban, who tried to recover it, was instead branded a rebel. Wikipedia says King U, after consulting Choe Yeong, released Jo Ban and jailed Yeom Heung-bang. Im Gyeon-mi's faction was then arrested too, and inspectors were sent to the provinces to return seized land to its owners. It is often cited as a case where one household's land dispute spread into a purge of a whole powerful faction.
The Dongjeong-gong branch takes him as its founder, and a culture newspaper says his son Gak (4th generation) went down to Imsil and settled around Imsil, Namwon and Naju. A descendant of the 6th-generation Su lived in Sinpyeong-myeon, Imsil, until the 10th-generation Heung-seo moved up to Gasa-ri, Gyoha, Paju in the mid-Joseon period, while the grandson Hyo-dal settled in Buk-myeon, Yeoncheon. The novelist Yeom Sang-seop is also listed under this branch (Namuwiki).
His tomb location was not confirmed in the sources used here. Descendants, through his son Yeom Gak (4th generation) and others, are said to have settled around Imsil, Namwon and Naju.