'Critical Conservative'... Nam Jae-hee, Former Minister of Labor, Passes Away

Started as a reporter, served as daily newspaper editorial director and chief editor
Entered politics in 1979... Four-term lawmaker until 1992
'System-internal liberal' crossing conservative and progressive lines
Changed 'Gwangju Incident' to 'Gwangju Democratization Movement'

Nam Jae-hee, former Minister of Labor who worked to foster exchanges between conservative and progressive camps, passed away from old age at a hospital in Seoul around 8:10 a.m. on the 15th, the family announced on the 16th. He was 90 years old.

Born in Cheongju, Chungbuk, the late Nam graduated from Cheongju High School and Seoul National University Law School. While attending Seoul National University, he led protests against the fraudulent admission of Lee Kang-seok (1937?1960), the adopted son of President Syngman Rhee (1875?1965), into the law department. In 1958, he entered the media industry as a reporter for the Korea Daily, then worked at the Mingu Daily, and from 1962 to 1972 served as a reporter, political chief, and editorial deputy director at the Chosun Ilbo. In 1972, he became the editorial director of the Seoul Shinmun, and in 1977, its chief editorial writer. He also served as secretary general of the Kwanhun Club.

On the afternoon of the 16th, the portrait of the late former Minister of Labor Nam Jae-hee was placed at the funeral hall set up at Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Starting as a 10th National Assembly member representing Gangseo District, Seoul, as a Democratic Republican Party candidate in 1979, he was elected four times in Gangseo District through the 13th National Assembly. In 1980, he participated in the founding of the Democratic Justice Party and served twice as the party’s policy committee chairman, playing a key role in the Chun Doo-hwan regime. At that time, it was notable that his two daughters were student activists. In March 1986, he was present at the "National Assembly National Defense Committee Drinking Incident," where a glass shard thrown by him hit a military general, escalating the situation. He served as Minister of Labor from 1993 to 1994 during President Kim Young-sam’s administration. Afterwards, he lectured on political issues as a visiting professor at Honam University for five years.

Although a core figure in conservative governments, he did not neglect exchanges with progressives. He described himself as a "liberal within the system," and according to his family, a poet once wrote that "his consciousness was with the opposition, but his reality was with the ruling party / his dreams were with progress, but his nature was conservative." According to his memoirs, in 1990, regarding Im Soo-kyung’s visit to North Korea, he stated in the National Assembly that "the issue of detaining visitors to the North is not a matter of punishing a crime but a matter of traffic control, that is, managing the flow." While serving as Minister of Labor, he also advised President Kim Young-sam not to deploy public authority to suppress the strike at Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Famous as a bibliophile and avid reader, he authored numerous works including Student Power (co-authored, 1969), Writing on Sand (1978), Onions and Lotus: Records of a Liberal Within the System (1992), Working People and Policy (1995), Media, Politics, and Customs: My 40 Years of Literary and Drinking Circles (2004), The Problem is the Leader: Jung Kwan-yong Asks, Nam Jae-hee, Kim Jong-in, Yoon Yeo-jun, and Lee Hae-chan Answer (co-authored, 2010), Big-hearted People Nam Jae-hee Met (2014), A Very Private Political Memoir (2006), Progressive Chronicles: Fifty Years of Nam Jae-hee’s Interactions with Progressive Figures (2016), Moderator of the Era: Records of an Intellectual Crossing the Boundaries of Conservatism and Innovation (2023), and What Do I Know: Forgotten Behind-the-Scenes Stories of Politics and Socio-Culture (2024). He received the Saemaul Medal for Diligence and the Order of Service Merit, Blue Stripes. His daughter Nam Young-sook, a professor at Ewha Womans University, said, "My father was a politician who crossed between conservatism and innovation, and he was proud of that himself."

He is survived by his wife Byun Moon-gyu, four daughters (Nam Hwa-sook, professor emeritus at Washington State University, USA; Nam Young-sook; Nam Kwan-sook; Nam Sang-sook), and sons-in-law Ye Jong-young (former professor at Catholic University) and Kim Dong-seok (professor at KDI School of International Policy and Management). The funeral is being held at Shinchon Severance Hospital Funeral Hall Room 3, with the funeral procession scheduled for 5:20 a.m. on the 19th. The burial site is the family graveyard in Miwon, Cheongju.