Overview
- Lee Hong-koo died Tuesday at age 92, capping a career that bridged academia, diplomacy and national leadership.
- South Korea’s unification ministry offered condolences Wednesday, praising his principled and balanced work on inter-Korean relations.
- A funeral altar is set at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, with visitation underway and burial planned at Cheonan Park Cemetery.
- He served as prime minister in 1994–95 under President Kim Young-sam, a period later defined by the Sampoong Department Store collapse.
- He helped craft the National Community Unification Formula and later took the U.S. ambassadorship in 1998 to help steady Korea during the Asian financial crisis.