Lee Byung-hee's 100th Birthday ④ 'Team Lee Byung-hee'…Ultimately People

Lee Byung-hee had a nickname that stuck with him throughout his life.

'A well-connected politician.'

It wasn't solely because of his political record—serving seven terms in the National Assembly, holding ministerial positions, and taking major party posts in the ruling party. He crossed over into the worlds of politics, the bureaucracy, business leaders, sports, and local society, meeting people and maintaining those relationships for the long term.

One of Lee Byung-hee's political assets was people. At the center of this was Kim Jong-pil.

The two were classmates from the 8th class of Korea Military Academy. They participated together in the May 16 Coup and later walked the same political path for a long time. Lee Byung-hee participated in founding the Democratic Republican Party, and when Kim Jong-pil established the New Democratic Republican Party in 1987, he joined. He was also part of the three-party merger in 1990, and when Kim Jong-pil left the Democratic Liberal Party in 1995 to establish the United Liberal Democrats, he moved in step with him. The Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture records that the two had deep friendship and walked the same political path.

It was a relationship that lasted over 30 years.

But Lee Byung-hee's connections were not limited to politics.

His relationship with Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul is a prime example.

The connection between Lee Byung-hee and Lee Byung-chul traces back to after May 16. Lee Byung-hee, then serving as director of the Seoul branch of the Central Intelligence Agency, is said to have come to know Lee Byung-chul while managing businessmen designated as illicit profiteers.

Lee Byung-hee treated businessmen with humanity, and through this process, a relationship formed with Lee Byung-chul. Later, when Samsung searched for a site for an electronics factory, Lee Byung-hee recommended Suwon to Lee Byung-chul, and the relationship between the two led to Samsung Electronics' establishment in Suwon.

Having connections and turning them into tangible results for a region are two different matters.

The characteristic of Lee Byung-hee's politics was that he linked relationships between people to Suwon's agenda.

His relationship with Lee Byung-chul led to Samsung Electronics, and his connections with central government figures, including Kim Jong-pil, became political channels to resolve major issues in Suwon.

However, major projects could not be created by a politician alone.

Lee Byung-hee had practitioners who transformed ideas into concrete plans.

The restoration of Suwon Hwaseong is a prime example.

In the early 1970s, the government was focusing on restoring patriotic cultural heritage, including the relics of General Yi Sun-sin, Jinju Fortress, and Haengju Fortress. To include Suwon Hwaseong in national restoration projects, a compelling rationale and plans to move the government were needed.

Lee Byung-hee tasked Im Soo-bok, an administrative officer working at the Office of the First Minister Without Portfolio, with researching Suwon Hwaseong and devising ways to include it as a national project.

Im Soo-bok did not work alone. With help from historians and local historians, he surveyed the site and collected materials. Over approximately two months, this resulted in the "Hwazan Comprehensive Development Plan," which encompassed Suwon Hwaseong, Yung and Geunneung Royal Tombs, and Yongju Temple.

A politician's vision was transformed into a practitioner's plan.

The plan then moved into the realm of politics.

In November 1973, Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil reviewed the plan and instructed the Ministry of Culture and Information to establish a comprehensive plan. In December of the same year, it received President Park Chung-hee's approval. Subsequently, with collaboration among the Cultural Heritage Administration, the Office of the First Minister Without Portfolio, Gyeonggi Province, and Suwon City, the Suwon Hwaseong restoration project began in earnest.

This process demonstrated Lee Byung-hee's approach to advancing projects.

A politician sets the direction, experts and civil servants create a plan, decision-makers from the central government are persuaded, and then the government and local government implement it.

Lee Byung-hee stood before the achievements, but numerous people stood behind them.

Business attraction was no different.

Records show that when searching for a Samsung Electronics factory site, Lee Byung-hee and Lee Byung-chul toured the site directly. Initially, the Cheoncheon-dong area was reviewed, but it was deemed unsuitable for a factory site. They then toured the outskirts of Suwon again to find an alternative location, and eventually the Maetan-dong area became the new candidate site.

One person did not have all the answers.

Businessmen made investment decisions, civil servants processed administrative procedures. The central government decided policy and budget, and local figures moved on the ground.

Lee Byung-hee moved between them.

At times, his relationships even transcended political rivalry.

In the 1967 legislative election for the 7th National Assembly, Lee Byung-hee faced Kim Doo-han of the New Democratic Party in Suwon. He conducted a fierce election campaign against Kim Doo-han, who was known as the 'General's Son,' and succeeded in his re-election.

However, the relationship between the two did not end with the election.

Records from the relevant region indicate that four years later, in the 1971 legislative election for the 8th National Assembly, Kim Doo-han appeared as a supporting speaker for Lee Byung-hee's campaign in Suwon.

They met as enemies in one election but stood on the same side in the next.

This was one aspect of the politics of the time, which did not allow political competition to escalate into the severance of human relationships, and it demonstrates how broadly Lee Byung-hee engaged with people.

His sphere of activity extended beyond politics and economics into the sports world.

After taking the position of chairman of the Korean Basketball Association in 1964, he was re-elected until 1980. He also served as chairman of the Asian Basketball Confederation and vice chairman of the International Basketball Federation. He also served as vice chairman of the Korean Sports Association and standing committee member of the Korean Olympic Committee. For a political figure, his involvement in domestic and international sports circles over such a long period was remarkable.

He walked alongside Kim Jong-pil in central politics and built relationships with businessman Lee Byung-chul. When reviving Suwon Hwaseong, practitioners like Im Soo-bok moved. Around Lee Byung-hee were people from different fields—businessmen, bureaucrats, scholars, local figures, and sports figures.

Therefore, viewing the nickname 'well-connected' simply as having wide reach overlooks one aspect of Lee Byung-hee's politics.

For him, relationships were a means to create work.

When Suwon had a need, he went up to the central government. When business was needed, he met with businessmen. When ideas were needed, he sought experts and attached practitioners to turn them into plans.

That method certainly had limitations of its time. Personal relationships with the core of power became an important conduit for drawing regional resources. It is difficult to compare directly with today's politics, where policies are decided primarily around systems and procedures.

Nevertheless, there remain lessons for regional politics in 2026 to reflect upon.

Major regional problems cannot be solved by the power of a single politician. Results can be created only by moving the central government and local governments, businesses and experts, civil society, and uniting different interests toward a single goal.

What Lee Byung-hee did half a century ago was ultimately that very process.

He was not a politician who did everything alone. Rather, because he did not do everything alone, he was able to accomplish much. Knowing people was not strength; making those people move for the region was strength.

Lee Byung-hee had people, and among those people was Suwon.