Ewha Womans University Professor Emeritus Lee Eryeong, who served as the first minister of the Ministry of Culture, passed away on the 26th after battling cancer.



He died at the age of 89.



The bereaved family announced that on the afternoon of the 26th, former Minister Lee Ee-ryeong passed away due to illness.



The deceased was born in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do in 1933 (family record, born in 1934), and was active as a literary critic, journalist, and professor.



He was the first Minister of Culture (1990~1991) established during the Roh Tae-woo administration and is a member of the Korean Academy of Arts.



The deceased graduated from Buyeo High School and graduated from Seoul National University and the same graduate school with the Department of Korean Language and Literature.



Starting with the Seoul Shimbun in 1960, he served as an editorial member of the Korea Daily, Kyunghyang Shinmun, JoongAng Ilbo, and Chosun Ilbo until 1972, and was active as the best commentator of the time.



From 1966 to Ewha Womans University, he served as a professor at Munri University until 1989, and as a chair professor in the Department of Korean Language and Literature from 1995 to 2001. In 2011, he became an emeritus professor at Ewha Womans University.



As a representative intellectual of Korea, including 'In the Soil In That Wind' (1960), 'Reduction-oriented Japanese' (1984), 'This Is Korea' (1986), 'Dialogue with the World Intellect' (1987), 'Thinking' He has published numerous books, including 'Change the Future' (1997), 'Digilog' (2006), 'From Intelligence to Spirituality' (2010), and 'Life is Capital' (2013).



Former Minister Lee was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and underwent two major surgeries, but instead of receiving chemotherapy, he has been immersed in writing his last book series, 'A Korean Story'.



In October last year, he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit for his contribution to the development of Korean literature.



He is survived by his wife Kang In-suk, director of the Youngin Literature Center, his eldest son Lee Seung-mu, a professor at Korea National University of Arts, and his second son Lee Kang-mu, a professor at Baekseok University.



Pastor Lee Min-ah, the eldest daughter of her deceased, served as a prosecutor for the Los Angeles area, California, USA. She passed away in 2012 after battling stomach cancer.



Her mortuary will be arranged at the funeral home of Seoul National University Hospital, and her family plans to hold the funeral for five days.



(Photo = Yonhap News)