Lee Hae-chan

Lee Hae-chan (Korean: 이해찬; 10 July 1952 – 25 January 2026) was a South Korean activist and politician who served as the prime minister of South Korea from 2004 to 2006 and as the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea from 2018 to 2020.

Born in Jangpyeong-myeon, Lee was imprisoned twice for organizing protests against the Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan dictatorships during his time at Seoul National University. After the June Democratic Struggle, he entered politics and served as a member of the National Assembly for the Gwanak District from 1988 to 1995 and 1996 to 2008. Between his terms as a legislator, Lee held office as the deputy mayor of Seoul in 1995.

Lee served as Minister of Education under President Kim Dae-jung from 1998 to 1999. He presided over controversial education reforms including revamping the college entrance process and lowering the retirement age of teachers. He later served under President Roh Moo-hyun as Prime Minister of South Korea from July 2004 to March 2006. During his premiership, he played a key role in advancing the Sejong administrative city project and finalizing Gyeongju as the site of the Wolseong Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center. He resigned in 2006 following public criticism over his handling of a nationwide transport strike.

On 27 August 2018, Lee was elected the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. He led the party to a landslide victory in the 2020 South Korean legislative election and remained an influential senior figure within the party. A close political mentor to Lee Jae Myung, he served as the vice chairman of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council from October 2025 until his death in January 2026. Over the course of his career, Lee held senior political positions under all four liberal presidents of South Korea since the democratic transition in 1987—Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in, and Lee Jae Myung. He was posthumously awarded the Mugunghwa Medal of the Order of Civil Merit by President Lee Jae Myung.