Joseon minister of war and nephew of Jo Sik; founder of the Hyoik-gong branch
| Life | 1524 ~ 1590 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 전의 이씨 |
Yi Jun-min (李俊民, 1524-1590) was a mid-Joseon civil official of the Jeonui Yi clan, with the posthumous name Hyoik. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture gives his courtesy name as Jasu and pen name as Sinam in its text, but as Seongbin and Hoesan in its header, so sources differ. He was the great-grandson of Yi Geon and grandson of Yi Jeong-yun; his father was Yi Gong-ryang, and because his mother was a daughter of Jo Eon-hyeong, the great Yeongnam scholar Nammyeong Jo Sik was his maternal uncle.
He passed the civil examination in 1549 and joined the Office of Special Advisors; as censor in 1554 he warned against empty literary display and urged the promotion of classical learning. After passing the higher examination in 1556 he became a royal lecturer, but the next year, as an inspector who helped drive out Yun Won-hyeong's faction with the backing of the powerful Yi Ryang, he incurred enmity and was demoted to magistrate of Yeongwol. Dismissed as magistrate of Gangneung in 1561 over a matricide in his jurisdiction, he later served as tutor to the crown prince and magistrate of Ganggye.
Under King Seonjo he became a royal secretary, and from 1570 long handled national defence as army commander of Pyeongan Province; after serving as governor of Gyeonggi and vice minister of works he governed the north well as governor of Pyeongan from 1575. He went on to become Minister of War, director of the State Tribunal and Left Third State Councillor, and was especially capable in defence matters. Troubled by the rise of the Eastern and Western factions, he admired Yi I's attempts at mediation and firmly opposed those who attacked Yi I after his death in 1584.
He is remembered as upright and unbending, frugal, and strict in educating his children, and as factional strife worsened he declined office on grounds of illness. He is enshrined at Imcheon Seowon in Jinju, and the Hyoik-gong branch that descends from him is listed as a sub-branch of the Seung-gan line of the Daesaseong-gong branch.