KOREA: Former Culture Minister Lee Kyoo-hyun Passes Away at 82

Lee Kyoo-hyun, former minister of culture and information, died of a chronic disease on Wednesday

The Korea Times
Wednesday, March 17, 2004

By Kim Tae-jong

Lee Kyoo-hyun, former minister of culture and information, died of a chronic disease on Wednesday. He was 82.

Born in Seoul in 1922, Lee studied at Waseda University in Japan and started his career as a journalist in the Korean Information Service, Inc., which published a domestic English-language newspaper. Later, he served as the managing editor of The Korea Times and the Korean Republic, predecessor of the Korea Herald, as well as the Korean-language daily JoongAng Ilbo. He also was an editorial writer for the local daily Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times.

Though he briefly worked in Japan as an information official in 1961, Lee started building a career as a public official in 1972 and later served in the public information department within the Culture and Information Ministry, as its director, deputy minister, and chief. Lee also became chief secretary to the prime minister, as well as an ambassador to Canada, Dominica, Norway and Iceland.

After he withdrew from his office, he also devoted himself to working as an executive adviser in Samsong Industry and as president in Samsong Manufacture and Songwu Product.

In 1989, he came back to journalism, working as president of the now-defunct Korea Daily and working as an editorial adviser of the JoongAng Ilbo. And he was named as head of the Korea-Canada Society. From 1993, he worked in IPS, an importer of books, as advisory executive before he died.

He was given the government's medals - the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Gwanghwa Medal and Order of Service Merit Yellow Stripes - and published books, titled "Irum (Name)" and "Komjong Pyojipan (Black Sign)."

The funeral mass will be held at Sejongno Cathedral at 10 a.m. on March 19.

Date Posted: 3/17/2004