Yi Do-jae (Hangul: 이도재, Hanja; 李道宰, 1848-1909) was a politician and career soldier of Imperial Korea.

Bibliography

Yi passed the military examination in 1882,and was appointed as Vice administrator of the Hongmungwan. Yi was appointed as

Secret royal inspector The secret royal inspector in Korea was a temporary position unique to the Joseon Dynasty, in which an undercover official directly appointed by the king was sent to local provinces to monitor government officials and look after the populace whil ...

to the Gyeongsang Left Province, and reported that people in the Gyeongsang Left Province were being embezzled. On 25 June 1884 (Lunar Calendar), Yi was appointed as Mayor of the

Uiju County Ŭiju County is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km², and a population of 110,018 (2008 data). Name Ŭiju appears as Uiju in South Korea's Revised Romanization and as Yizhou in Chinese ...

. However, on 13 April 1886 (Lunar Calendar), Yi was sent to Gogumdo as a punishment,and returned to office on 22 June 1894 (Lunar Calendar). On 7 August 1894 (Lunar Calendar), Yi was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry. During the

Donghak Peasant Revolution The Donghak Peasant Revolution (), also known as the Donghak Peasant Movement (), Donghak Rebellion, Peasant Revolt of 1894, Gabo Peasant Revolution, and a variety of Donghak Peasant Revolution#Role played by Donghak, other names, was an armed ...

, Yi was ordered to reside in

Jeolla Province Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in today Southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...

. On 12 December 1894 (Lunar Calendar), Yi arrested

Jeon Bongjun Jeon Bong-jun (1855 – 1895) was born in Taein, Jeollabuk-do, Korea. He was a prominent leader of the Donghak Peasant Revolution. Due to his short physical stature, he was called "''Nokdu Janggun''" (녹두장군, General mung bean). Struggle ...

. On 29 May 1895 (Lunar Calendar), Yi was appointed as the observer of the

Jeonju Jeonju () is the 16th largest city in South Korea and the capital of North Jeolla Province. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many residents who work in Jeonju) ...

. Yi arrested Gim Gae nam, a

Donghak Donghak (formerly spelled Tonghak; ) was an academic movement in Korean Neo-Confucianism founded in 1860 by Choe Je-u. The Donghak movement arose as a reaction to seohak (), and called for a return to the "Way of Heaven". While Donghak originat ...

leader, and executed him in 1895. On 10 October 1895 (Lunar Calendar), Yi was appointed as Lieutenant General, Chikiimgwan first class, and the Minister of Military. On 30 March 1896, Yi was appointed as First class member of the Jungchuwon. He was appointed as Minister of Education in the same year. However, resisting short cut order, he resigned his office of Minister of Education on 16 November 1896. On 27 February 1897, Yi was appointed as Special Official of the

Gungnaebu Gungnaebu (literally "Department of the Royal Household") was a Korean government office in charge of affairs related to the royal household of the late period of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. In the government organization during the Joseon Dynas ...

. On 1 February 1898, Yi was appointed as the Minister of the Foreign Affairs, but because of disease, Min Jong-mok served as the acting Minister from 17 February 1898. He returned on 27 February. On 25 March 1898, Yi became Minister of Agriculture and Industry. Yi and Minister of Interior

Bak Jeongyang Bak Jeongyang (; 1841 – 1904) was a Korean Joseon dynasty politician and edification activist. a member of Independence Club (독립협회;獨立協會) and the People's joint association, People's Joint Association (만민공동회;萬民共同 ...

proposed the land ownership of people to the State Council of Korean Empire, and following the request, he was made one of the presidents of Land ownership section. In 1903, Yi was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his term as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Korea tried to become a neutral state. He firmly declared that troubles of Russia and Japan would cause a trample in Korea, which makes them to remain neutral. Yi opposed the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, also known as the Eulsa Treaty, Eulsa Unwilling Treaty or Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty, was made between the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1905. Negotiations were concluded on November 17, 19 ...

, making him to ask the Emperor to punish the

Five Eulsa Traitors The Five Eulsa Traitors refer to the five officials serving under Emperor Gojong who signed the Eulsa Treaty of 1905, which made Korea a protectorate of Japan. The five officials were Education Minister Yi Wan-yong, Army Minister Yi Geun-taek ...

. When Gojong was abdicated and

Sunjong Sunjong, the Emperor Yunghui (; 25 March 1874 – 24 April 1926), was the second and the last Emperor of Korea, of the Yi dynasty, ruling from 1907 until 1910. Biography Crown Prince of Korea Sunjong was the second son of Emperor Gojong a ...

replaced him, Yi tried to invalidate the abdication with

Park Yung-hyo Park Yung-hyo or Bak Young-hyo (; 1861 – 21 September 1939) was a Korean politician from the Joseon Dynasty, an enlightenment activist, diplomat and pro-Japanese collaborator. He was one of the organizers of the Gapsin Coup of 1884, in ...

. Yi was arrested with Bak. Yi was removed from post and

Ye Wanyong Ye Wan-yong (; 17 July 1858 – 12 February 1926), also spelled Yi Wan-yong or Lee Wan-yong ( ko, 이완용), was a Korean politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Korea. He was pro-Japanese and is best remembered for signing the J ...

succeeded his office on 22 July 1907. Yi died in 1909. Sunjong gave of Munjeong (Hangul: 문정, Hanja: 文貞) as the posthumous name on 5 October 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Do-jae 1848 births 1909 deaths Lieutenant generals of Korean Empire Officials of the Korean Empire Politicians of the Korean Empire 19th-century Korean people 20th-century Korean people