Yi Uimin

Yi Ui-min (1141?–1196) was a military official and politician during Goryeo's era of military rule. Though he came from a lowly family of salt peddlers, he used his martial ability after the military coup to break through the rigid class barriers and rise all the way to the position of supreme power holder. His career vividly illustrates an age in which military strength and personal ability, rather than birth or aristocratic lineage, determined who held power. In 1196 he was killed by the brothers Choe Chung-heon and Choe Chung-su, an event that paved the way for the Choe military regime that followed.