| Lee Chin Koon | |
| Birth Date: | 1 June 1903 |
| Birth Place: | Semarang, Netherlands East Indies |
| Death Place: | Singapore |
| Spouse: | Chua Jim Neo (1922) |
| Children: | 5; including Lee Kuan Yew |
| Relatives: | Lee family |
Lee Chin Koon (1 June 1903 – 12 October 1997) was an Indonesian-born Singaporean storekeeper and manager for Shell Oil Company. Lee was also the father of Lee Kuan Yew and the paternal grandfather of Lee Hsien Loong, the first and third Prime Minister of Singapore respectively.
Lee was born on 1 June 1903 in the Netherlands East Indies, Semarang, Indonesia to an upper-class family and was raised English-speaking.[1] His parents were Hakka-Peranakan Lee Hoon Leong and Indonesian-Peranakan Ko Liem Nio.
His father, Hoon Leong, worked as a pharmacist and was appointed purser at Heap Eng Moh Shipping Line. His family later moved to Singapore when he was five, where he studied at St. Joseph's Institution.[2]
During the Great Depression, Lee's family was affected but, in the 1930s, he managed to secure a job as a storekeeper for Shell Oil Company, later becoming a manager after World War II. He later worked at a shop at High Street, selling watches and jewellery.[3]
In 1957, he helped his son Lee Kuan Yew campaign at the Tanjong Pagar by-election.[4]
He married his wife, Chua Jim Neo, on 20 May 1922 in an arranged marriage by Chua's family.[5] Together they had 5 children, including first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.[6] In 1945, Lee and Chua bought a bungalow at 38 Oxley Road. Lee was a frequent gambler, usually being stood up by Chua when he went to gamble.[7]
In 1959, after Lee Kuan Yew was elected Prime Minister, Lee led a mostly private life, having told a cousin, "I don't like publicity."[8]
Lee died on 12 October 1997 at 94. His wife had died in 1980.[9]