Yi Wan-yong

Yi Wan-yong (1858–1926) was a Korean statesman who served as prime minister and helped negotiate the 1910 Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty. His role made him one of Korea’s most notorious collaborators with Japanese rule.

Gojong of Korea: The Korean emperor who ruled from 1863 to 1907, during Korea’s transformation into the Korean Empire. Yi served under Gojong as Korea faced mounting Japanese pressure and contested sovereignty.
Korean Empire: An independent empire on the Korean Peninsula from 1897 until Japan’s annexation in 1910. Yi held high office as this empire lost control of its foreign affairs and government.
Korean independence movement: A diverse movement that sought to end Japanese rule over Korea, through diplomacy, protest, and armed resistance. The movement opposed the loss of sovereignty that Yi helped formalize.
Chinilpa: A Korean term for people who collaborated with Japanese imperial rule, especially during the colonial period. Yi is often treated as the defining example of the category.
Eulsa Treaty: The 1905 agreement that made Korea a Japanese protectorate after Japan pressured Korean officials to accept it. Yi supported the protectorate arrangement that preceded his later role in annexation.
Sunjong of Korea: The last emperor of Korea, whose reign lasted from 1907 until Japan annexed Korea in 1910. Yi was prime minister during Sunjong’s reign and the annexation that ended it.
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905: A treaty that made Korea a Japanese protectorate and transferred control of its foreign affairs to Japan. The protectorate created the political order in which Yi later served as prime minister.
March 1st Movement: A nationwide Korean protest against Japanese rule that began on March 1, 1919, and was met with repression. The mass protest expressed opposition to the colonial order established after Yi’s treaty.
Korean National Assembly: South Korea’s national legislature, responsible for passing laws and representing citizens. Legislative investigations and restitution laws made collaboration a subject of state policy.
Korean Empire cabinet: The ministers who advised and administered the Korean Empire’s government under the emperor. Yi’s office as prime minister placed him at the center of cabinet decisions under Japanese pressure.

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