Ex-Seongnam mayor dies at 80

Lee Dae-yup

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Lee Dae-yup, an actor-turned-lawmaker and former mayor of Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province, died Friday from chronic pulmonary edema. He was 80.

Born in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1935, Lee started his career as an actor after majoring in law at Kyungnam University. He appeared in several action movies, including “The Marines Who Never Returned” and “Red Muffler” in the 1960s.

Lee entered politics as a lawmaker for a district in Seongnam in 1981, and served three terms.

In 2002, Lee was elected mayor and was later re-elected, serving the city for eight years.

During his time in office, Seongnam implemented a free lunch program for all elementary schoolchildren. He also halved the property tax rate in the city.

Lee also attracted IT-related institutions and companies to set up their headquarters in the city, including the Korea Electronics Technology Institute and NHN.

However, Lee came under fire after his successor, current Mayor Lee Jae-myung declared a city moratorium under huge debt in 2010, the first municipality to do so. The successor claimed the debt came from the municipality’s loose management during Lee’s terms, including the building of a luxurious city office building.

Later, Lee was arrested on assorted corruption charges, including document forgery, embezzlement and bribery. He was sentenced to four years in prison in September 2012 and put behind bars, but was released on medical parole in November and has been hospitalized since for treatment.

A memorial altar has been set up at Seoul National University Hospital Bundang.