Yi Suk-beon (李叔蕃, 1373 – 1440) was a civil official of early Joseon. His ancestral seat was Anseong (安城).
In 1393 (2nd year of King Taejo), he passed the regular civil service examination and ranked third class. He was a close associate of Taejong Yi Bang-won. As governor of Chungcheong Province, he killed Jeong Do-jeon and others and received the title of Meritorious Subject of Jeongsa (定社功臣) from Taejong. In 1400, for his merit in suppressing Park Po's rebellion, he received the title of Meritorious Subject of Jwamyeong (佐命功臣) and was enfeoffed as Anseong-gun (安城君). In 1402, when Jo Sa-ui (趙思義), magistrate of Anbyeon, launched a rebellion, he marched out and suppressed it. However, at the time of Taejong's abdication controversy, when he was already 50 years old, he remarked that the king could simply abdicate, which offended Taejong. Afterwards, relying on his merit, he behaved arrogantly and extravagantly, and in 1417 he lost his post and was exiled to Hamyang in Gyeongsang-do (present-day Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea). He was released during the reign of King Sejong in order to compile the Yongbi eocheon ga, but once the book was completed he was again exiled to Hamyang, where he died.
After his death he was posthumously restored and granted the title of Chief State Councillor. He was a half-brother of Yun Ja-dang, Prince of Chilwon. His courtesy name was Baeung (伯應) and his pen name was Unjeong (芸亭). His posthumous name was Chungsuk (忠肅).
Life
Early life
His father was Yi Gyeong and his mother was a lady of the Yeongyang Nam clan, a daughter of Nam Hwi-ju. His mother Lady Nam had originally been the wife of a Mr. Yun; after her husband died, she remarried Yi Gyeong, bringing with her her two sons, Yun Ja-ryang and Yun Ja-dang. It is said that he was clever and resourceful from childhood and had an extraordinary memory.
Political and bureaucratic career
First Prince's Rebellion
In 1390, during the reign of King Gongyang of Goryeo, he passed the Saengwon examination, and in 1393 (2nd year of King Taejo of Joseon) he passed the regular civil service examination, the first held in Joseon, ranking third class. He then became a trusted follower of Grand Prince Jeongan and, after holding several posts, became Magistrate of Jianshan (知安山郡事) in 1398. While serving as magistrate, he assisted Grand Prince Jeongan Bang-won (芳遠, later Taejong) by mobilizing private troops and deploying soldiers around Gyeongbokgung to seize Hanseong. He eliminated Crown Prince Bangseok (芳碩) and his elder brother Bangbeon, and he contributed to the removal of Jeong Do-jeon, Nam Eun (南誾), Shim Hyo-saeng (沈孝生) and others, who were drinking at the house of Nam Eun's concubine. While serving as a close associate of Bang-won, when King Jeongjong ascended the throne, he is said to have told Bang-won, "I merely wish to enthrone you as king." At the time this earned him Taejong's trust, but Taejong later kept this remark in mind for a long time and remained wary of him.
In 1398, after the accession of King Jeongjong, he was ranked second class among the Meritorious Subjects of Jeongsa, was enfeoffed as Anseong-gun, and was appointed Junior Secretary of the Royal Secretariat.
Second Prince's Rebellion and suppression of Jo Sa-ui's Rebellion
In 1399 (1st year of Jeongjong) he became Left Chief Secretary. At the beginning of the following year, Park Po incited Bang-gan (芳幹), who was at odds with Bang-won, to raise an army; together with Ha Ryun and others he mobilized troops to eliminate them, and he had Park Po executed. He then became Left Army Commander (左軍摠制) and, together with Ha Yun, demanded that King Jeongjong abdicate. When Grand Prince Jeongan ascended the throne as Taejong, he became a First-Rank Meritorious Subject of Jwamyeong (佐命功臣).
In 1402 (2nd year of Taejong), he became head of the left wing of the newly established Naegapsa (內甲士), and then became Vice Commissioner of the Ministry of Ceremonies (知承樞府事). At the end of that year, Jo Sa-ui, Magistrate of Anbyeon, together with other people close to Yi Seong-gye, rose in rebellion on the frontier. He became Commander of the Capital Defense (都鎭撫) and, together with the Commander of the Left Army, marched out, suppressed them, and returned. He then became Vice Minister of the State Council (知議政府事) and Assistant State Councillor (參贊議政府事), and in 1405 he became Chief Examiner (知貢擧) and supervised that year's civil service examination. Although he was a civil official, he was skilled in archery, horsemanship and spear-throwing, so he continued to hold military posts afterwards.
Military activities
In 1406 he became Concurrent Central Army Commander (兼中軍摠制) and Concurrent Commissioner of the Righteous Army Patrol Office (兼判義勇巡禁司事). In 1407 he held posts including Concurrent Senior General of the Left Palace Guard (兼忠佐侍衛司上護軍) and Concurrent Senior General of the Righteous Palace Guard (兼義興侍衛司上護軍).
In 1408, when the Ten Senior Generals (十司上護軍) system was abolished, he became Concurrent Central Army Commander-in-chief (兼中軍都摠制), and the following year he became Commissioner of the Northeastern Province (東北面節制使). He then passed through posts such as Assistant State Councillor and Concurrent Vice Minister of the Yeunghung Office (兼知義興府事), and at the end of 1412 he was promoted to Senior Rank 1 Sungjeong Daebu (崇政大夫).
In 1413 he served as Minister of War, and in early 1414 became Chanchansa of the State Council. Later, following a reorganization of the State Council, in early 1414 he passed through posts such as Co-Judge of the State Council (同判議政府事) and Left State Councillor, and became Left Chanseong of the State Council. Meanwhile, in 1414, as Acting Chief of the Chunchugwan (知春秋館事), he was ordered, together with Chief of the Chunchugwan Ha Yun (河崙) and others, to revise and correct certain parts of the Goryeosa concerning events after King Gongmin.
Later life
Impeachment and resignation
Yi Suk-beon's power grew very strong, and in 1415 (15th year of Taejong) he was promoted to Bogukswungnok daebu, was again appointed Left State Councillor, and was enfeoffed as Anseong Buwongun (安城府院君).
However, he became conceited about his very great merit and went about committing many acts of arrogance. For example, during the reign of Taejong, there was a plan to build a new gate, Seojeonmun (西箭門), on the west side of Hanyang. Originally Seojeonmun was to be built near Yi Suk-beon's house, but because he disliked having a city gate built in front of his own house, he blocked it and had the gate built in front of Indeok Palace, where the Retired King Yi Bang-gwa resided. (Taejong Sillok, 13th year, 6th month, 19th day.) Then, in the 14th year of Taejong, when the Retired King and Taejong came for the New Year, Yi Suk-beon and Ha Ryun failed to show proper courtesy to the reigning king, and they were criticized by the Office of Remonstrance (司諫院). Yi Suk-beon and Ha Ryun became angry and tried to punish the remonstrating officials who had criticized them, but Chief State Councillor Seong Seok-rin and Right State Councillor Nam Jae, who were Yi Suk-beon's superiors, acknowledged that Yi Suk-beon had been rude to the king and opposed the punishment of the Office of Remonstrance. Yi Suk-beon then went into the houses of his superiors Seong Seok-rin and Nam Jae and forcibly obtained their signatures agreeing to the punishment of the Office of Remonstrance (Taejong Sillok, 14th year, 1st month, 2nd day). In this way Yi Suk-beon frequently committed rude and overbearing acts, regardless of whether they were his superiors or the king.
When he was impeached by the Office of the Inspector-General (司憲府) and the Office of Remonstrance (司諫院), Taejong immediately sentenced him to exile. In 1416 (16th year of Taejong), when the king was worried about drought and the various ministers discussed the calamity daily and were anxious and at a loss, Yi Suk-beon did not appear at the palace for several months, citing illness.
Taejong asked why Yi Suk-beon had not come to the palace, and at the same time memorials accusing Yi Suk-beon of rudeness (無禮) and disloyalty (不忠) poured in. Taejong, enraged, said that heaven would not send rain because of such a minister. Yi Suk-beon was also attacked for asking to see the Crown Prince (Grand Prince Yangnyeong) frequently after the deaths of the brothers Min Mu-gu and Min Mu-jil, on the grounds that this showed he harbored treasonous intentions.
Exile and death
Thereafter, the Two Offices repeatedly impeached him on the grounds that by nature he was reckless, and that, trusting in his own merit and Taejong's favor, he was arrogant and willful and behaved rudely toward his colleagues. Yi Suk-beon submitted a petition for resignation and requested to be allowed to live at his villa in Yeonan, Hwanghae Province. Taejong allowed him to go and live there as he wished. However, when objections arose that the punishment was too light, he was finally stripped of his office, his Meritorious Subject certificates and appointment documents were all revoked, and in 1417 he was exiled to Hamyang in Gyeongsang Province.
When Yongbi eocheon ga was being composed in the reign of King Sejong, on the recommendation of Kim Don (金墩), Royal Secretary and Chief Secretary of the Royal Secretariat, he was summoned to the capital because he knew the details of the early founding period, and he took part in the compilation. When the compilation was finished, he was released from his exile in Hamyang and was permitted to live freely in Gyeonggi Province. However, he was unable to return to political life, and he died in 1440 (22nd year of Sejong).
After death
After his death he was posthumously granted the title of Daegwang Bogukswungnok Daebu and Chief State Councillor of the State Council, and the posthumous name Chungsuk (忠肅) was conferred on him.
He was buried in Sanhyeon-dong, Guro-myeon, Ansan-gun (present-day Sanhyeon-dong 71, Siheung City). His tomb was designated as Siheung Local Cultural Heritage No. 18 in November 2006.
Genealogy
His mother, a lady of the Yeongyang Nam clan, was a daughter of Nam Hwi-ju and the wife of a Mr. Yun, but after his death she remarried Yi Gyeong.
- Great-grandfather: Yi Hui (李禧, served as Vice Minister of Personnel in Goryeo)
- Grandfather: Yi Sa-jeong (李思正)
- Father: Yi Gyeong (李坰, served as Samjung Daegwang Munha Sijung (三重大匡門下侍中) at the end of Goryeo, posthumous name Munjeong (文靖))
- Mother: Lady Nam of the Yeongyang Nam clan (英陽南氏), daughter of Nam Hwi-ju (南輝珠)
- Wife: Lady Jeong of the Cheongju Jeong clan, Seowon Buburin (西原府夫人), daughter of Jeong Chong (鄭摠), Vice Minister of the Chamseo Jungchuwon (簽書中樞院事) and Prince Seowon (西原君)
- Son: Yi Jeong (李楨), recorded in the Danjong Sillok of the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty
- Eldest daughter: wife of Kang Sun-deok, recorded in the Danjong Sillok of the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty
- Daughter: wife of Kim Hae, recorded in the Danjong Sillok of the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty
- Half-brother: Yun Ja-ryang, who served as Grand Academician (大提學); ancestral seat Chilwon
- Half-brother: Yun Ja-dang, who served as Left State Councillor; ancestral seat Chilwon
- Maternal grandfather: Nam Hwi-ju (南輝珠)
Works in which Yi Suk-beon appears
- Chudonggung Mama (MBC, 1983, actor: Kim Hee-ra)
- Tears of the Dragon (KBS1, 1996–1998, actor: Sun Dong-hyuk)
- The Great King Sejong (KBS, 2008, actor: Kim Ju-young)
- Jeong Do-jeon (KBS1, 2014, actor: Jo Soon-chang)
- Six Flying Dragons (SBS, 2015–2016, actor: Cha Yong-hak)
- Taejong Yi Bang-won (KBS1, 2021–2022, actor: Jung Tae-woo)
- Won-kyung (tvN, 2025, actor: Park Yong-woo)
Anecdote
In the essay collection Yongjae chongwha (慵齋叢話) by Seong Hyeon (成俔, 1439–1504), an early Joseon figure, the following legend is recorded. Lady Nam, the mother of Yun Ja-dang, was widowed at a young age and lived in Hamyang (咸陽). When Yun Ja-dang was seven years old, he went with his mother to a shaman's house to have his fate read, and the shaman said, "Do not worry. This child has the appearance of nobility. However, this child will certainly attain nobility through the strength of a younger brother." Lady Nam, puzzled, said, "How can the son of a widow obtain a younger brother?" But the shaman predicted that Lady Nam would soon remarry. Afterwards Lady Nam married into the Yi family and bore a son, and that son was none other than the minister Yi Suk-beon (李叔蕃).
Related literature
- Lee Chung-seop, Anseong Buwongun Yi Suk-beon, a Politician of Joseon (Korean Library of Literature, 2007)
- Lee Deok-il, Joseon History Seen Through Purges (Seokpil Publishing, 2002)
- Park Young-gyu, Joseon Dynasty Veritable Records Read in One Volume (Deulnyeok Publishing, 1998)