He was born on 17 January 1928 in the Spiš village of Čierna Hora, which had been annexed to Poland before his birth. He was a Slovak sculptor, monumentalist and educator — one of the most prominent personalities of Slovak art in the second half of the 20th century. He studied wood carving under Prof. Anton Drexler at the State Industrial School in Banská Štiavnica, and subsequently from 1945 to 1951 under Prof. Jozef Wágner at the School of Applied Arts in Prague. After his studies he settled in Bratislava, where from 1953 to 1981 he worked as a teacher at the Secondary School of Applied Arts. His work represents a unique and original phenomenon in Slovak sculpture. He was able to creatively build upon the tradition of folk art and harmonise it with references to Gothic, Baroque, Cubism and other modern artistic means. He was the author of works of balladic emotional depth, developing the folk tradition through a modern idiom. He favoured a robust sculptural form with a powerfully resolved silhouette, suppressed detail to the greatest possible extent, and employed swirling, rounded elements — achieving a strong emotional impact. The wood carvings and monumental bronze sculptures of Ľ. Korkoš are today an inseparable part of many Slovak cities. Bratislava alone is adorned by several of his works. In 1979 he was awarded the title of Merited Artist.

Ľ. Korkoš died in 1992 in Bratislava.

In Prievidza we have three artworks by Ľ. Korkoš: the sculpture Marína in front of the Primary Art School on Rastislavova Street, and two reliefs on the façade of the Business Academy in Prievidza on Fraňa Madvu Street (the central relief is the work of Anton Drexler).