Former National Assembly Speaker dies at 83
Former National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-sup bangs the gavel in this September 2001 file photo to proclaim the dismissal of then Unification Minister Lim Dong-won. Lee passed away Monday at age 83. / Yonhap
By Kim Hyo-jin
Lee Man-sup, former National Assembly speaker passed away, Monday. He was 83.
He died of a chronic disease at 4:31 p.m. at Yonsei Severance Hospital, according to Kwon Joong-tae, a parliamentary official. His National Assembly sponsored funeral will take place Friday.
Lee, an eight-term lawmaker and two-term National Assembly Speaker, was a veteran politician at the forefront of Korean politics for five decades since the 1960s.
He served as the National Assembly speaker from 1993 to 1994, replacing Park Jyun-kyu, who was involved in a land speculation scandal. He served his second term from 2000 to 2002.
Even after his last legislative term in the 16th Assembly, which ended in 2004, Lee still remained active in politics, serving as an advisor.
Lee, a one-time politics reporter at the Dong-A Ilbo, entered politics in 1963 during the leadership of the late President Park Chung-hee (1963 to 1979).
At the age of 31, he won his first parliamentary seat in the 1963 general election.
Though boasting an impressive career path, Lee had his ups and downs in political life due to his obstinacy.
In 1969, Lee led the movement opposing the lengthening of the presidential term of Park and demanded the dismissal of power-wielding presidential chief of staff Lee Hu-rak and director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency Kim Hyung-wook, only to suffer an eight-year vacuum in his political career.
He was also credited for his upright and disciplinary character in leading the parliament.
In 1993, Lee refused to open the Assembly session to pass the Unified Election Law pushed by the governing camp unilaterally, causing discord with then President Kim Young-sam.
Born in Daegu in December 1932, Lee studied political science and diplomacy at Yonsei University. After graduation, he started working as a reporter at the Dong-A Ilbo in 1956 and worked as a correspondent in Japan and the United States afterwards.
He is survived by his wife Han Yun-bok, a son, Seung-wook, and two daughters, Seung-hee and Seung-in.