Joseon Right State Councillor under King Injo and incorruptible official who opposed peace with the Qing
| Life | 1592 ~ 1648 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 전의 이씨 |
Yi Haeng-won (李行遠, 1592-1648) was a late-Joseon civil official of the Jeonui Yi clan. His courtesy name was Sachi, his pen name Seohwa and his posthumous name Hyojeong. He was the great-grandson of Cheonggang Yi Je-sin; his grandfather was Yi Gi-jun, his father county magistrate Yi Jung-gi and his mother a daughter of Im Saek.
Talented and broad-minded from youth, he was widely seen as a person of great promise. He passed the licentiate examination in 1610 and the royal-visit civil examination in 1617, then served in the Office of Editorial Review. After the Injo Restoration of 1623 his writing won royal recognition: as a royal secretary he drafted most of the king's edicts and proclamations, and he was promoted in the Office of Special Advisors and also sent out as a secret royal inspector. According to Korean Wikipedia he passed through a series of prestigious posts in the censorate, the Office of Special Advisors and the Ministry of Personnel, and after entering the senior ranks as royal secretary served as chief remonstrance official, head of the National Academy and inspector-general.
When the Qing invaded in 1636 he followed King Injo into Namhansanseong and, opposing Choe Myeong-gil's advocacy of peace, argued for resistance. After the peace he accompanied Crown Prince Sohyeon, taken hostage, all the way to Shenyang as his tutor and shared his hardships. After returning he served as inspector-general, governor of Gyeonggi, chief royal secretary and vice minister of personnel, and then as Minister of Personnel and Minister of War.
He became Right State Councillor in 1647 and the next year, while travelling to the Qing as envoy, fell ill and died in Pyeongan Province. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture he was a skilled painter, governed provinces well by calming the people and sharply reducing taxes, and lived in poverty all his life, for which he was selected as an incorruptible official. His cousin Yi Haeng-jin also served as magistrate of Gaeseong and governor of Gyeonggi, and the family of Yi Je-sin rose to prominence in this generation.