Yun Won-ro (尹元老, 1502 – 26 December 1547) was a military official and royal in-law of mid-Joseon Korea. His family seat was Papyeong (坡平). He was the son of Yun Ji-im, Lord Papsan, and the elder brother of Yun Won-hyeong, Yun Won-ryang, and Yun Won-pil, and the brother of Queen Munjeong. Yun Im, leader of the Daeyun faction, was a second cousin of his father, Yun Ji-im.
He became a marriage relative of Kim An-no, with whom he was politically opposed: Kim Hui, son of Kim An-no, and Kim Seon-ok, the eldest daughter of Princess Hyohye (daughter of Jungjong and Queen Janggyeong), married Yun Won-ro's son Yun Baek-won. In addition, the daughter of his elder brother Yun Won-ryang, Consort Suk (Yun), was a secondary consort of Injong1. He was a relative of Kim An-no by marriage, a brother-in-law of Jungjong, the uncle by marriage of Injong, the maternal uncle of Myeongjong, and a co-in-law with Princess Hyohye, the daughter of Jungjong, so that he was related to Jungjong through multiple layers of kinship.
Life
In 1515, Queen Janggyeong gave birth to the first prince (later Injong) and died of postpartum illness. In 1517, Yun Won-ro's elder sister was selected as queen.
In 1536 he became an Gamyeok official, and shortly afterward was promoted to 6th rank. Because of this sudden promotion he was criticized by the censors and was removed from his post. In 1537, while serving as Left Secretary, he quarreled with his co-in-law Kim An-no and was dismissed from office. After repeated criticism by the censors, he was subjected to banishment outside the capital and then exiled. Afterward, when Kim An-no failed in an attempt to depose Queen Munjeong, he returned to office. In 1544 he quarreled with Yun Im and was dismissed and exiled.
After Jungjong died and Injong ascended the throne in 1544 (first year of Injong), the Daeyun faction under Yun Im gained power, and he was impeached and dismissed from office.2 Afterward he plotted with his younger brother Yun Won-hyeong and his nephew Yun Chun-nyeon to expel Yun Im. That same year he became Chief Clerk of the Gunginsi.
In 1545 (the year of Myeongjong's accession), after Injong died and Myeongjong ascended the throne, he was released again and became Chief Clerk of the Gungi-gam. The royal funeral was supposed to follow the five-month rule, but together with Queen Munjeong, Yun Won-hyeong, and Yi Gi, he argued that "Injong was a king who did not reign for even a year, so it is not proper to use the rites for a great king," and had Injong's funeral carried out in a meager manner.2
In the seventh month of that year, he falsely accused the Daeyun faction, including Yun Im, of plotting to harm Grand Prince Gyeongwon, in an earlier attempt to expel Yun Im and others of the Daeyun faction. However, Chief State Councillor Yun In-gyeong and Left State Councillor Yu Gwan impeached him for fabricating false words and sowing discord between close relatives, and as a result he was exiled to Haenam, South Jeolla, and released after one year. Yun Im of the Daeyun faction became his second cousin once removed.
Later, in the Eulsa Purge, the faction of Yun Im, Yu Gwan, and Yu In-suk was eliminated and executed, and he was released. Afterward he rose to Chief Clerk of the Gunginsi and to the post of Dojeong of the Dononbu, but he resented not having been included among the merit subjects. In 1546, he lost a power struggle with his younger brother Yun Won-hyeong, was impeached, dismissed from office, and exiled, and was ordered to die at his place of exile. Burial items and a coffin were soon granted, but the Saheonbu and others raised objections to this. As a result of this affair, his son Yun Baek-won allied himself with Yi Ryang, a rival of Yun Won-hyeong.
He also formed a marriage relationship with his rival Kim An-no. The first wife of his younger brother Yun Won-hyeong was the daughter of Kim An-su, an elder cousin of Kim An-no. Yun Won-ro's son Yun Baek-won married Princess Hyohye, a daughter of Jungjong, and Kim Seon-ok (金善玉, 1531 – ?), the daughter of Kim Hui, Yeonseong-wi (延城尉, ? – 1531). His daughter-in-law Kim Seon-ok was the granddaughter of Kim An-no.
Family
- Grandfather: Yun Huk (尹頊, 1459 – 1485)
- Father: Yun Ji-im, Lord Papsan (坡山府院君 尹之任, 1475 – 1534)
- Mother: Lady Jeonseong, Jeonui Yi clan (全城府夫人 全義 李氏, 1475 – 1511), daughter of Yi Deok-sung (李德崇)
- Elder brother: Yun Won-gae (尹元凱)
- Elder brother: Yun Won-ryang (尹元亮, 1495 – 1569)
- Elder brother: Yun Won-pil (尹元弼, 1496 – 1547)
- Eldest sister: Papyeong Yun clan
- Second sister: Queen Munjeong (文定王后, 1501 – 1565)
- Younger brother: Yun Won-hyeong (尹元衡, 1503 – 1565)
- Jeongbuin (正夫人): Pyeongchang Yi clan, daughter of Yi Ryang (李亮)3
- Eldest son: Yun Baek-won (尹百源, 1528 – 1589)
- Daughter-in-law: Kim Seon-ok (金善玉, 1531 – ?), daughter of Princess Hyohye and Kim Hui (金禧)
- Granddaughter: Yun Gae-mi-chi (尹介未致, ? – 1589)4
- Eldest daughter: Yun Ae-hyeon (尹愛賢, 1534 – ?)
- Second son: Yun Cheon-won (尹千源, 1539 – ?)
- Second daughter: Yun Jung-hyeon (尹仲賢, 1541 – ?)
- Third son: Yun Man-won (尹萬源, 1545 – ?)
- Concubine: Yeoheung Min clan
- Illegitimate son: Yun Jo-won4
Related Dramas
Yun Won-ro as he appears in historical dramas:
Notes