Song Gi-su

Song Gi-su (1507 – 1581) was a civil official of the mid-Joseon period. He was related to Song In-su, who had served as Chief Censor. His family seat was Eunjin, and his pen name was Chupa and his courtesy name Taesu.

Life

During the reign of King Jungjong he passed the civil service examination and in 1532 became Junior Censor, but he resisted the abuses of Kim An-no and left office. After Kim An-no was forced to drink poison, he was reinstated and in 1538 became Compiler. He then served as lecturer of the Office of Special Advisers and Junior Minister of Personnel, and after being sent out to serve as royal inspector of Gangwon Province he returned to the capital and again held the posts of Senior Censor of the Office of the Inspector-General and Vice Academician of the Office of Special Advisers, and was later promoted to Director. While serving as Director of the Office of the Inspector-General, in 1543 he was sent out as royal inspector of Chungcheong Province, where he comforted the people. Afterward, in 1544, he passed through the post of Director of Instruction of the Office of Special Advisers and became Junior Royal Secretary of the Royal Secretariat, thereby ascending to the rank of senior official. When King Injong took the throne, he also served as Senior Royal Secretary of the Royal Secretariat and concurrently as Councilor Assistant. He was then promoted to Right Royal Secretary, and after the accession of King Myeongjong he took part in the Eulsa Purge led by Yun Won-hyeong, Lee Gi, Jeong Sun-bong and others, for which he was recorded among the Meritorious Subjects of Ik-sa and was promoted to Royal Secretary-in-Chief. He then became Vice Minister of Revenue, and in succession was sent out as governor of Gyeonggi Province, after which he was again appointed Vice Minister of Revenue and soon moved to . However, after his relative was executed, his relations with Yun Won-hyeong soured. He later went out to serve as governor of Gangwon Province, and in 1550 returned to the central government to serve as and . Afterward he resigned on the pretext of illness, and in 1555 he returned to court and became . He then passed through the post of of the and was appointed ; after returning from a mission to Ming China as deputy envoy, he served as . In 1559 he was appointed and then of the , before suddenly being promoted to and entering the ranks of the senior ministers. He was then again appointed of the . While serving as Chief Censor, in 1563 he was promoted to and soon appointed . In 1564 he moved to , and in 1565 he was again appointed . At this time, while serving as , he took part in punishing the faction of Yun Won-hyeong. In 1566 he became and soon was again appointed . During the reign of King Seonjo he again passed through the post of and became , after which he entered the .

Evaluation

He served four kings and enjoyed wealth and longevity, but he was criticized by the Sarim faction for having taken part in the Eulsa Purge.