Yi Geun-taek (; 30 September 1865 – 16 December 1919) was an official of

Korean Empire The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910. Dur ...

who signed the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 as Minister of Military and became one of the

Five Eulsa Traitors The Five Eulsa Traitors () refers to the five officials serving under Emperor Gojong of Korea, Gojong who signed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, which is also referred to as the Eulsa Treaty. The treaty made Korea a protectorate of Empire of Jap ...

. He later became viscount after annexation of Korea.

Biography

Yi was born on 30 September 1865. From 1872, Yi was home schooled. When

Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong (; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895) was the official wife of Gojong, the 26th king of Joseon and the first emperor of the Korean Empire. During her lifetime, she was known by the name Queen Min (). After the founding o ...

refuged to

Cheongju Cheongju (; ) is the capital and largest list of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The 'Cheong' in the name of Chungcheong Province is the Cheong of Cheongju. History Cheongju has been an important prov ...

because of

Imo Incident The Imo Incident, also sometimes known as the Imo Mutiny, Soldier's riot or Jingo-gunran in Japanese, was a violent uprising and riot in Seoul beginning in 1882, by soldiers of the Joseon Army who were later joined by disaffected members of the ...

, Yi was known and after the incident he went to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

and passed military examination of

Gwageo The () or ''kwagŏ'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1897) periods of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge ...

. After the

Gojong's internal exile to the Russian legation King Gojong's internal exile to the Russian legation, also called the Agwan Pacheon incident (), occurred in 1896 in Korea when King Gojong and his crown prince left the Gyeongbokgung palace to take refuge at the Russian legation in Hanseong (Seo ...

, Yi was appointed as battalion leader of 3rd Qinwi battalion. For merit of dismissal of the

Independence Club The Independence Club (), alternate name Independence Association, was an organization that advocated for Korean independence. It operated between July 2, 1896 and December 25, 1898, and was founded and led by the prominent Korean independen ...

in October 1898, Yi was appointed as mayor of Seoul, Chief of Police. Later, Yi was Observer of

North Hamgyong Province North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province. Geography The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, S ...

, member of Jungchuwon, and staff of Gyeongbu. In October 1901, Yi was appointed as Major General and commander of military police. In March 1902, Yi was the acting chief of Pyeongriwon. On 25 August 1902, Yi became the acting commander of the Mixed Brigade. In September 1902, Yi became the director of persecutive of

Board of Marshals The Board of Marshals () was the ministry which managed overall the military of the Korean Empire. This was for centralizing power towards the then-emperor, Gojong of the Korean Empire. Gojong established it to have the supreme command of the arm ...

. On 28 October 1902, Yi was the acting minister of military. Yi was against Yi Yong-ik, who did not do his duty as an official. He tried to remove Yi Yong-ik from the office. On 29 November 1902, Yi was removed from his office. On 3 May 1903, Yi became Lieutenant General. He tried to strengthen the army by buying naval ships. He had many doubts about having a secrete agreement with Russia. On 6 February 1904, Yi became director of finance of Board of Marshals. For the

Japan–Korea Treaty of February 1904 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1904 was made between representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1904. Negotiations were concluded on 23 February 1904.Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington ...

, Yi was sent as the representative of Korea. On 12 April 1905, Yi became the chief of equerry. He later became Minister of Nongsanggongbu and Minister of law later. On 26 September 1905, Yi was appointed as Minister of Military. As Minister of Military and Law, Yi signed the Eulsa Treaty. With Yi Wan-yong, Yi was one of the ministers who agreed with the treaty. After the treaty he got 1st class of

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

. Many officials tried to punish Yi with four other ministers who signed the treaty but it failed. Yi tried to censor the regiments of Jinwidae by appointing Yi Byeong-mu as the official for censoring. On 17 November 1906, Yi became the speaker of Junchuwon. In 1906, he was attacked with knife by an assassin when he was sleeping in his second wife's house. He was sent to hospital after being attacked. He recovered after months being in hospital. After his recovery, he was appointed as Baejongmuguanjang on 25 May 1907. He was removed from the army on 3 September 1907. After the annexation, Yi was ennobled as viscount and was part of the Jungchuwon of

Korea under Japanese rule From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

. He died on 17 December 1919. Eight days after his death,

Sunjong of Korea Sunjong (; 25 March 1874 – 24 April 1926), personal name Yi Cheok (), also known as the Yunghui Emperor (), was the last Korean monarch. He ruled from 1907 to 1910 as the second and last emperor of the Korean Empire. Sunjong was elevated to ...

gave him 250 won. He was one of the

Chinilpa From the late 19th century and until 1945, a number of ethnic Koreans worked with the Empire of Japan. Some of these figures contributed to or benefitted from Japan's colonization of Korea, and some actively worked to counter the Korean independe ...

for signing the Eulsa Treaty. His properties was forfeited to the Korean government. However, Yi's older brother's grandson tried to get back Yi's property.

Honours

Order of the Palgwae The Order of the Palgwae was an order of chivalry of the Korean Empire that was given to military personnel and officials. Established on 16 April 1898, the order was divided into eight classes. Form The Order of the Palgwae had the trigram in t ...

2nd Class on 22 February 1905 *

1st Class on 21 May 1905 *

1st Class

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Geun-taek 1865 births 1919 deaths Imperial Korean military personnel Lieutenant generals of Korean Empire Jeonju Yi clan Government officials of the Korean Empire Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers 19th-century Korean people 20th-century Korean people Political office-holders of the Korean Empire Joseon Kazoku Stabbing survivors