The
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907 dissolved Korea's military, but Yi opposed this and organised a volunteer army on Ganghwa Island with Yeon Gi-u and Kim Dong-su. However, they were captured and exiled. An American missionary was able to secure Yi's release in October and he left for Manchuria. Yi fought against the
Empire of Japan's
annexation of Korea as a member of the
righteous armies. He went into exile with several hundred soldiers into northern Korea, Manchuria, and then the
Russian Far East. He was arrested for being involved in the
105-Man Incident in 1911, but was released without charges. Yi was among the founding members of the
New People's Association. Yi was one of the founding members of the
Korean Socialist Party in
Khabarovsk on 26 June 1918, and sought support from the
Bolsheviks. The party opposed the
Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and passed a resolution baring its members from joining it on 25 April 1919. Yi became disillusioned with the party and left to join the provisional government in Shanghai on 30 August. Yi was selected to serve as prime minister of the provisional government when it was founded in Shanghai. Yi led one of the three factions in the provisional government, with
Syngman Rhee and
Ahn Chang Ho leading the other two. Yi supported raising funds to fund military actions against the Japanese in the 1920s and using Siberia and Manchuria as training grounds. He served as prime minister from 1919 to January 1921, when he broke from the provisional government. The provisional government denounced Yi on 26 January 1922. Yi formed the
Korean Communist Party in 1920, and members from the Korean Socialist Party joined the party on 10 January 1921. The 1st Party Congress was held in May 1921, after working on the party's platform for months. This platform condemned both the
League of Nations and
Second International. The party claimed to have 1,000 members by April 1922. ==Death==