Myeongjong (8 November 1131 – 3 December 1202), personal name Wang Ho, was the 19th king of Korea's Goryeo dynasty.
Although it was intended that King Injong's second son should succeed his father, he was assassinated because Chŏng Chung-bu feared that he might become a threat to him in the future.
Myeongjong was a weak puppet king, and was merely on the throne to show the general populace they still had a king, as the true rulers were the military leaders who had launched a coup d'état against Myeongjong's older brother and had established a military government.
[3] His reign saw constant bloodshed as well as the deaths of the military rulers Chŏng Chung-bu, Yi Ŭi-bang, Kyŏng Tae-sŭng, and Yi Ŭi-min.
After twenty-seven years on the throne, he was sent into exile by the military ruler of the time, Ch'oe Ch'ung-hŏn.