Lee Nak-yon

He is the 22nd generation descendant of Grand Prince Wanpung, the 1st son of Yi Jachun as well the older brother of Taejo who is known to be the first King of Joseon.

After graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in law, he shortly worked at investment trust.

Lee Nak-yon (born 20 December 1951), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020.

Lee was born on 20 December 1951 in Yeonggwang County in South Jeolla Province.

From the late 1970s to 2000, he worked as a journalist for the daily Dong-a Ilbo newspaper for 21 years.

A member of the New Reform Party, he is the longest-serving prime minister since the Constitution of South Korea was last revised in 1987.

From 1989 to 1993, he was stationed in Tokyo as its correspondent during which he reported the inauguration of new Japanese monarch Akihito.

Lee entered politics in 2000 "based on his ties with former President Kim Dae-jung he formed while covering politics."

Following his departure from the Dong-a Ilbo he was elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2000 and served for four terms.

He also served as a spokesperson for former President Roh Moo-hyun when Roh was the president-elect in 2002.

Roh chose Lee's draft speech for his presidential inauguration among multiple drafts and delivered the speech without changing a word Lee wrote.

Lee was only one of two parliamentarians who voted against the impeachment of President Roh despite of different party membership.

Lee is seen as having close ties with key Japanese politicians, having served many years as a senior member in the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union.

Lee speaks fluent Japanese.

Lee previously held the governorship of South Jeolla Province province from 2014 to 2017, a stronghold of his party.

Before serving as governor, he worked as a journalist for over 20 years and served as a member of the National Assembly for four terms.

Lee was chosen for the position of Prime Minister by President Moon Jae-in to keep his campaign promise to appoint his de facto deputy from Honam region.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, Lee became well-known for his forceful exchanges with opposition party leaders and adeptness at communicating with citizens.

He left office in the middle of his fourth term in 2014 to successfully run for governor of South Jeolla Province.

Lee received around 60% approval rating throughout his term before leaving the office in May 2017.

In addition to securing unprecedented amount of investment to the least developed region in the country, Lee is well known for introducing "100 won taxi" policy which improved mobility of its citizens by funding taxis to drive its citizens to the nearest bus stop for 100 won which is less than a dime.

He is also known for his love of Makgeolli, a Korean traditional rice wine, which he used to facilitate communication with his provincial government employees who nicknamed him "Manager Lee" for his attention to detail.

On his first day in office, President Moon nominated Lee as his first Prime Minister of South Korea right after his inaugural ceremony.

Lee resigned from South Jeolla Provincial Governorship on the same day.

Until Lee's nomination was confirmed by the parliament, Hwang Kyo-ahn, the last prime minister under impeached-and-removed president Park Geun-hye, kept his place.

Lee referenced Makgeolli when emphasising his intention to work with opposition parties and for the people.

On 25 June, Lee urged North Korea to release their prisoners.

On 27 July, he criticized the accord regarding ‘comfort women’.

On 16 August, Lee reacted negatively to calls for South Korea to possess nuclear weapons, saying the move would undermine Seoul's calls for North Korea to denuclearize, trigger a nuclear arms race and put the country under international sanctions.

Reflecting such calls, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party adopted a demand for the redeployment of US tactical nuclear arms as its official party line during a general meeting of its lawmakers.

On 29 November, Lee raised concerns that cryptocurrencies were corrupting the youth of South Korea, remarking “There are cases in which young Koreans including students are jumping in to make quick money and virtual currencies are used in illegal activities like drug dealing or multi-level marketing for frauds”.

Prior to and following his victory in the crucial Jongno district in the 2020 legislative election against conservative Hwang Kyo-ahn, another probable presidential candidate, he was once considered a likely nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidential election.

He lost the primary to Lee Jae-myung in October 2021.

In 2020 election, Lee stood for Jongno constituency and defeated the UFP President Hwang Kyo-ahn.

He took two roles in his party - co-chair of 2020 general election campaign with the other co-chair being then-party leader Lee Hae-chan and the chair of the committee "to overcome the national crisis" caused by Covid-19 pandemic.

With the party leader Lee Hae-chan hospitalised, Lee traveled across the nation to support his party candidates and was regarded as the de facto commander of his party's campaign in the election.

The party increased its share at the parliament to a level that it does not require other parties' votes for enacting the laws.

In July 2020 Lee announced his campaign for the leader of his party, Democratic Party, highlighting his experiences dealing with "crises" that are much needed in transitioning into post-covid 19 era.

If elected, Lee is likely to serve as party leader for 7 months - less than a half of its fixed tenure - following the party rule that mandates party's presidential candidate to resign from party leadership.

In this regard, Lee stressed his passion for his calling to be the party leader that he will work like a "flame" during these period.