Lee Dae-yeop

Lee Dae-yeop (李大燁, May 10, 1935 – February 6, 2015) was a South Korean film actor turned politician. After retiring from acting, he served as a member of the National Assembly for the 11th, 12th, and 13th terms and as Mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in the 17th and 18th terms.

Life

He was born in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province. From the 1960s through the 1970s, he worked as a film actor.

On March 2, 1979, he was appointed deputy spokesperson of the Democratic Republican Party, and he served as deputy spokesperson until May 1979. After leaving the post, he left the party. Ahead of the 11th National Assembly election, he joined the Shinjeong Party and ran in the Seongnam–Gwangju County constituency, winning the seat. He was then re-elected in the same constituency in the 12th National Assembly election, and in the 13th National Assembly election he won the Seongnam Gap constituency, serving three terms in the National Assembly.

In the 2002 3rd nationwide simultaneous local elections, he ran for Mayor of Seongnam. During his term, the city hall he had built became embroiled in controversy over being a luxurious building. In the 5th nationwide simultaneous local elections, when he failed to receive the nomination of the Grand National Party, he ran as an independent for mayor but lost with 5.69% of the vote. It is assessed that, due to extravagant management during his tenure as mayor, Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province provided the cause for the city to declare a moratorium, the first case in the history of South Korea's local governments. Meanwhile, after the 5th nationwide simultaneous local elections, his wife was subjected to an entry ban and was detained on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, including illegal campaigning.¹ During an investigation into whether his nephew received bribes from a construction company as payment for favors related to the construction of a public parking lot, his home was searched,² and on December 2, 2010, he was arrested. On March 22, 2012, a four-year prison sentence was confirmed.