In Remembrance of Lee Hong-koo

The Asia Foundation mourns the passing of renowned Korean statesman, scholar, and diplomat Lee Hong-koo. He was a distinguished leader in government and academia, serving as prime minister, president of the Korean Political Science Association, and chairman of the Seoul International Forum. Lee was also a great friend, supporter, and advisor of TAF. 

TAF began programming in Korea in 1954, initially focused on education, culture, and the printing and publishing industries to help the nation build the intellectual capital needed to lead the country forward after the war. TAF and Lee crossed paths in the 1960s when he was an emerging scholar and academic leader at Seoul National University. TAF awarded him a grant for a U.S. study tour focused on university academic program planning and administrative development. 

In the mid-1980s, Lee participated in a TAF-funded research project exploring the prospects for democratic self-governance in Korea and the local conditions that would support or hinder such a transition. A few years later, Lee would enter public service, helping the country transition to democracy and serving as prime minister in 1994–1995. 

In 1998, Lee stepped down from parliament to serve as ambassador to the United States. After completing that assignment, he returned to Korea and in 2004, he became the first chair of the Friends of The Asia Foundation (FOTAF), a group of prominent figures in the Korean educational, business, and political sphere, many of whom had received grants and scholarships from TAF in its early years in Korea. 

FOTAF has been instrumental for TAF in Korea, providing guidance, introducing new public and private-sector partners, and raising funds, noted TAF President Laurel Miller.  

“These contributions were crucial to TAF’s new programming in the early 2000s to support Korea’s growing role as a development assistance provider,” she said. “In recent years, FOTAF has raised and contributed funds to TAF’s scholarship programs for girls in Vietnam, further demonstrating how Korea has become critical to the success of the region.” 

Lee served as chair of FOTAF until 2013. He also served as a member of TAF’s board of trustees (2003–2013) and provided invaluable counsel to TAF and current Board Chair Kathleen Stephens (former U.S. ambassador to Korea). 

“I thought of Lee Hong Koo as the wisest man in Korea,” Stephens said. “His intellect and public service shaped Korean—and American—ideas about the alliance, about inter-Korean relations, and Korea’s place in the world. I learned from and relied on his counsel from the 1980s to the present. He will be remembered as a true Korean statesman.”    

TAF extends its condolences to Lee’s family and friends.