Crown Prince of Korea Sunjong was the second son of
Emperor Gojong and
Empress Myeongseong. When he turned two years old in 1876, Sunjong was proclaimed the Crown Prince of Joseon. In 1882, he married a woman of the
Yeoheung Min clan (later
Empress Sunmyeonghyo). She died at the age of 31 on 5 November 1904 due to a severe depression, after trying to protect her mother-in-law (Empress Myeongseong, also a member of the Yeoheung Min clan) from
her assassination on 8 October 1895 by the Japanese military. When his father proclaimed Korea as an
Empire in 1897, Sunjong was appointed as the Crown Prince of Imperial Korea on 12 October 1897. On 29 June 1898, he was appointed as the
Field Marshal of the
Imperial Korean Army. Sunjong remarried again 3 years later to the daughter of
Yoon Taek-young,
Yun Jeung-sun of the Haepyeong Yun clan, who was 20 years younger than him, on 11 December 1906, and she became Crown Princess Consort Yun (later Empress Sunjeong).
Emperor of Korea On 19 July 1907, Gojong was deposed as a result of
Japanese coercion, and Sunjong was made the Emperor of Korea. His coronation proceeded in Don-doek-jeon.
Prince Imperial Yeong, the younger half-brother of Sunjong, was proclaimed heir to the throne and moved from
Deoksugung Palace to the imperial residence at
Changdeokgung Palace. Sunjong's reign was limited by the gradually increasing armed intervention of the Japanese government in Korea. In July 1907, he was proclaimed emperor of Korea but was immediately forced to enter into the
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907. This treaty allowed the Japanese government to supervise and intervene in the administration and governance of Korea, which also allowed for the appointment of Japanese ministers within the government. While under Japanese supervision, the Korean army was dismissed on the pretext of a lack of public finance regulations. In 1909, Japan implemented the , which effectively removed Korea's judicial power. Meanwhile, Japan dispatched
Itō Hirobumi,
Japanese Resident-General of Korea, to negotiate with Russia over problems involving Korea and
Manchuria. However, Itō was assassinated by
Ahn Jung-geun at
Harbin, which led to the
Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910.
Pro-Japanese politicians, such as
Song Byung-jun and
Lee Wan-yong, defected, merging Korea with Japan by fabricating Korea's willingness and establishing the
Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty on 29 August 1910. Although still existent
de jure, the intervention by the Japanese government effectively ended Sunjong's reign over the Korean Empire
de facto and he became essentially powerless within three years of ruling. Japan, in effect, officially abolished the
Korean Empire on 29 August 1910, ending 519 years of the
Joseon dynasty.
Post-abdication After the annexation treaty, the former Emperor Sunjong and his wife,
Empress Sunjeong, lived the rest of their lives virtually imprisoned in
Changdeokgung Palace (in present-day
Seoul). Sunjong could not exercise any power as emperor because there were only
pro-Japanese politicians in the government. After the Korean Empire collapsed, Sunjong was demoted from emperor to king. Japan allowed him the title of
King Yi of Changdeok Palace () and allowed for the title to be inherited. ==Family==