At the start of the Imjin war in 1592, he lost his position as Crown Prince () due to his violent personality. After being passed over for the position of Crown Prince, he was sent to
Hamgyeong-do with
Prince Sunhwa () to recruit the
Geunwang soldiers (). On 23 July the two brothers were captured by a local inspector in Hoe-ryeong,
Hamgyeong-do. They were eventually released after series negotiations. After the war, prince Imhae acted arrogantly and violently. Some officials wanted him to be severely punished, but he was protected by his father. When Gwanghae took over the throne, appeals for his punishment and expulsion came up one after another.
Uigeumbu () followed Gwanghae's instructions and punished Imhae,
Gi Ja-heon () and
Yi Heung-ro (). Meanwhile,
Hong Mun-gwan () advocated for a death sentence, and Imhae was exiled again to Gyodong-gun. Based on ''Gwanghaegun's Diary'' (),
Yi Jeong-pyo (), a soldier who guarded him in the exile, was suspected to have forced him to drink poison, but after the rebellion, a servant of Imhae testified that he was, in fact, strangled to death. There was also a re-investigation in 1623 which concluded that he was murdered by an assassin sent by
Yi Yi-cheom (), then reinstated under
King Injo's command. ==Family==