Lee Ho-jeong, Korea JoongAng Daily national desk chief, dies at 48

Lee Ho-jeong

Lee Ho-jeong, the national desk chief at the Korea JoongAng Daily, died on Feb. 16 at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. He was 48.

Lee joined the Korea JoongAng Daily in 2001, working in the newsroom for more than 20 years as both a reporter and manager. Alongside stints on both the culture and national desks, Lee spent years as a senior reporter on the business desk.

He was promoted to national desk chief in 2023, overseeing both the national section and the daily operation of the newsroom.

A prominent figure in the newsroom for the majority of the Korea JoongAng Daily’s existence, Lee was both a prolific writer and a genuinely caring manager who worked tirelessly to support those around him. He was personally responsible for training a generation of young reporters on both the business and national desks.

Lee was born in 1976 and spent part of his childhood living in Malaysia. He graduated from Hanyang University, where he majored in urban engineering, in 2000.

Lee is survived by his wife and two children.

A funeral altar for Lee has been set up at the funeral hall at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam, southern Seoul. His funeral procession will be held at 8 a.m. on Sunday.