Is Ilhyeong Lee, the Mayor-elect of Dongdaemun District, a Former Writer?

Former National Intelligence Service Officer and Author of Four Mountaineering Books on Baekdudaegan and the Himalayas Draws Attention

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Few people know about Lee Pil-hyung, the mayor of Dongdaemun District. This is because he is neither a politician nor a former Seoul city administrative official.

He seems to have appeared like a comet(?) and suddenly been elected as the mayor of Dongdaemun District ahead of the June 1 local elections.

A Naver search shows he was born in 1959 in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, and holds a master's degree in political science from Korea University Graduate School. After his election, his career at the National Intelligence Service was also recorded.

He served as the Chairman of the Organization Integration Committee for Yoon Seok-yeol’s campaign in the 20th presidential election and as the Head of Organization Headquarters 1 for Hong Joon-pyo’s Hope Camp, a preliminary candidate of the People Power Party in the 20th presidential election.

It seems difficult to fully understand this elected official based on such a brief career.

Even the employees of Dongdaemun District Office do not know much about him.

However, Lee is an author who has published four books. His first book, “The Breath Leads Me”, was published on February 5, 2016 (by Kyunghyang Newspaper Company). This book was his first after finishing his public service at the National Intelligence Service and trekking the Baekdudaegan mountain range.

In particular, his first book, The Breath Leads Me, is well known for sparking a trekking boom on the Baekdudaegan. The following December, he published his second book, “Nepal’s Time Does Not Hurry”, which compiled his impressions after a 13-night, 14-day trek in Annapurna.

His third book is “The Path to the Sky of Mont Blanc” (December 2019).

The last book is “Is Hongdo Doing Well?” (June 2021). In this book, he wrote about his first meeting with Hong Joon-pyo, a senior from university and then a prosecutor, 27 years ago at a lunch restaurant. Hong Joon-pyo, who was elected mayor of Daegu, once served as a member of the National Assembly for Dongdaemun District.

Although Lee is not well known to the general public, he is recognized as a professional writer who has published four books mainly related to travel.

Additionally, Lee is famous for the anecdote that he used to arrive at work at 5 a.m. during his career. As a public official serving the nation, he believed it was natural to arrive earlier than regular company employees, reportedly coming to work four hours earlier than others.

Thanks to this passion, he was recognized for his abilities to the extent that he held three major department head positions within the organization. After a gap of about six years, Lee was elected as the mayor of Dongdaemun District, where the Democratic Party had held the office for 12 years, marking a new path and drawing attention.

The day after his election in this local election, on the 2nd, Lee held a meeting and had a meal with senior officials of Dongdaemun District Office, showing his modest personality.