Yi Won

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Yi Won 이원
Yi in 2018
Head of the House of Yi
Period	16 July 2005 – present
Predecessor	Yi Ku
Born	(1962-09-23) 23 September 1962 (age 62) Hyehwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Spouse	Cho Tŭng-hak
Issue	Yi Kwon Yi Yeong
Names Yi Sang-hyŏp
Father	Yi Gap
Mother	Yi Gyeong-suk

Yi Won (Korean: 이원; born Yi Sang-Hyeob;^{[citation needed]} 23 September 1962) is a great-grandson of Gojong of Korea and one of several who claim to be current head of the House of Yi.^[1]

Yi Won was born as the eldest son of Yi Gap, the 9th son of Prince Yi Kang by one of his partners at Hyehwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. He attended the Sangmun High School during 1979–1981 and completed studies in broadcasting at the New York Institute of Technology, United States. He and his wife have had two children, the eldest son, Yi Kwon (이권), born in 1998; the other son, Yi Yeong (이영), born in 1999.^{[citation needed]}

He worked as a general manager of Hyundai Home Shopping, a Hyundai Department Store Group company, until Prince Yi Ku died on 16 July 2005. After the death of Yi Ku, the Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association made him the heir of the late prince;^[2] Yi Won was later announced to be the director of the association on 27 June 2007.^[3] Officially, as noble titles aren't recognized by the Constitution of South Korea, Yi Won is by birth a citizen in South Korea.

He currently lives in an apartment in Wondang, Goyang, Gyeonggi province, South Korea with his family.^{[citation needed]}

According to the chairman of the association, Lee Hwan-ey (이환의, 李桓儀), in his last meeting with Yi Ku on 10 July, Yi Won was allowed to become his heir and Yi Ku signed for granting permission. Following the death of Yi Ku on 16 July 2005, the Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association appointed Yi Won as the next Head of the Korean Imperial Household and as such he inherited the title of Hereditary Prince Imperial (Hwangsason) from Yi Ku. Another meeting held on 21 July, within the association, was to determine whether Yi Won could be the successor of Yi Ku.^[4] Eventually, Yi Won's status as Yi Ku's successor was confirmed by the Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association as of 22 July 2005.^[2]

This claim was contested by his half-aunt, Yi Hae-won, who was crowned "Empress of Korea" by some of her relatives. In spite of this, he is annually called on to take the place of the sovereign at the Jongmyo jerye ceremonies performing rites to his royal ancestors.

Those who dispute the legitimacy of the adoption claim that consent for the adoption of Yi Won was not given by other members of Imperial House, including Yi Seok, the younger half-brother of Prince Gap, and Yi Hae-won, the eldest member of the house until her death in 2020. Also, Yi Ku died before the adoption process could complete; as such, according to present Korean law, a traditional posthumous adoption was no longer recognized by legislation as of 2004.^[5]

• House of Yi
• Joseon dynasty

• Coronation of Korea’s new empress leads to royal family controversy
• English Donga article mentioning Yi Won