이동녕 李東寧
Independence activist; chairman of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and first speaker of the Provisional Legislative Assembly
| Life | 1869 ~ 1940 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 연안 이씨 |
Life & career
Yi Dong-nyeong (李東寧) had the pen name Seogo (石吾) and was from Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. He was an enlightenment activist who was active in the Independence Club and the People's Joint Association during the Korean Empire period and worked as a reporter for the Jeguk Sinmun. He also took part in forming the New People's Association (Sinminhoe).
In the 1910s he went into exile in Manchuria, where he founded the Sinheung Military School (Sinheung Training Institute) in West Jiandao and served as its first principal, devoting himself to training independence-army soldiers. In 1919 he took part in establishing the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and served as the first speaker of the Provisional Legislative Assembly.
He subsequently served several terms as premier (gungmuryeong) and chairman of the Provisional Government, leading it together with Kim Gu and others. He died of illness in Qijiang, Sichuan Province, China, in 1940, and his remains were repatriated after liberation. In 1962 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Presidential Medal.
Grave
Hyochang Park, Seoul (repatriated and interred in 1948)