Yi Seok
Yi Seok
| |
|---|---|
| Head of the House of Yi (disputed) | |
| Imperial by Constitution | 16 July 2005 – 2021 or 2022 |
| Predecessor | Prince Yi Ku |
| Successor | Andrew Lee |
| Born | 30 August 1941 Sadong Palace, Keijō, Korea, Empire of Japan |
| Spouse | Dokko Jeonghui (divorced) Song Hui-yeong (divorced) Kyung Sook Lee |
| Issue | Yi Hong Yi Jin |
| House | Yi |
| Father | Yi Kang, Prince Imperial Ui |
| Mother | Lady Hong Chŏng-sun |
| Occupation |
|
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이석 |
| Hanja | 李錫 |
| Revised Romanization | I Seok |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Sŏk |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 이해석 |
| Hanja | 李海錫 |
| Revised Romanization | I Haeseok |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Haesŏk |
Yi Seok (Korean: 이석; born 3 August 1941) is a South Korean entrepreneur. He is a member of the House of Yi, the royal house of Joseon and Korean Empire. He is the 10th son of Prince Yi Kang, the fifth son of Emperor Gojong, and one of his concubines, Lady Hong Chŏng-sun.
Yi has been described as "one of two pretenders to the Korean throne and the only one living in Korea". Yi promotes the creation of a constitutional monarchy alongside the existing presidential system. In August 2006, Yi founded the Imperial Cultural Foundation of Korea (황실문화재단) to support this proposal.
In his early life, he gained fame as a singer and he released a 1967 album Pigeon House. Since 2004, he has been employed by the city of Jeonju to promote tourism. He also serves as a professor of history at Jeonju University. Yi's guesthouse in the Jeonju Hanok Village has been visited by Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in.