Lee Ki-yong (1889-1961), the fifth grandson of King Jeongjo’s father, Prince Sado, is the grandson of Heungnyeong-gun (Lee Chang-eung), the eldest brother of Heungseon Daewon-gun. To Gojong, he was a dangjil (nephew of his 5th village). Lee Ki-yong was the last son of the royal family of the Korean Empire, but after receiving Gyeongsulgukchi (Korea-Japan merger) in 1910, he received his own title and 30,000 won for sujak money from the Japanese imperial rule, and the following year, he went on to the’Maeil Shinbo’, an institutional magazine of the Joseon Governor-General. He took the lead in pro-Japanese activities, including contributing a congratulatory remark to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the Korea-Japan merger.
Kiyong Lee visited Japan as a member of the Joseon Aristocratic Tourism Group in 1910 and visited the mausoleum of Hirobumi Ito, who was shot by Dr. Ahn Jung-geun in 1909. During the Pacific War, in April 1945, he served as a Japanese nobleman. Even when he was arrested in January 1949 by the Anti-National Behavior Special Investigation Committee (Anti-People’s Special Commission), a photo of Emperor Hirohito was hung in his house, and about 30 Japanese imperial medals were found.
Ministry of Justice, lawsuit for redemption of national treasury against 4 pro-Japanese actors
A public hearing for the enactment of the Pro-Japanese Property Attribution Act (special law on the return of property of pro-general actors to the state) held at the National Assembly in 2004. Central photo
He spent his youth working with gambling. In the appendix of the Annals of Sunjong, there is a record that King Sunjong, the last king of the Joseon Dynasty, gave 300 won and 500 won respectively for Lee Ki-yong’s’family aid’ in 1922 and 1923. Nevertheless, he was able to call his fortune in return for his pro-Japanese act. It acquired the right to use the land in Gyeonggi Province and the joint mining rights for gold and silver mines in Gangwon-do from the Governor-General of Korea.
The government decided to return part of Lee Ki-yong’s accumulated wealth to the national treasury in celebration of the 102nd verse 3·1. According to the Ministry of Justice on the 1st, the State Litigation Division of the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit on the transfer of ownership and the return of unfair gains against the descendants of four pro-Japanese actors, including Lee Ki-yong, on the 26th of last month to redeem the property.
All four of these pro-Japanese factions were recognized by the Japanese imperialism in 1912 for their contribution to the merger between Korea and Japan, and received a memorial hall for the merger between Korea and Japan. Among them is Lee Hae-seung (1890-unknown), who was from the same Joseon royal family and received the title of Marquis from the Japanese imperialism. The eldest son of the Joseon Dynasty’s eldest brother, Yeongpyeong-gun (Lee Gyeong-eung), he and his age, Ki-yong Lee, cooperated with the Japanese colonial rule to build a fortune. In 1942, as president of the Korean Nobles Association, he delivered 20,000 won to the Japanese army and naval military donations to the governor-general of Korea.
The publicly announced land for the land subject to redemption is 2.7 billion won
The former Central Office (National Museum of Korea) building was used as the government office of the Joseon Dynasty during the Japanese colonial period. It was demolished on August 15, 1995 during the Kim Young-sam administration. The central dome is currently stored in the Cheonan Independence Hall, Chungnam. Central photo
The land property subject to repatriation includes Lee Ki-yong’s 2nd lot in Ipae-dong, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, Lee Hae-seung’s 1st lot in Hongeun-dong, Seoul, and Lee Gyu-won (1890-1945), who received his own title during the Japanese colonial rule, 7th lot in Wolgot-myeon, Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do. It is a total of 11 parcels, including 1 parcel located in Beobwon-eup, Paju, Gyeonggi-do of Hong Seung-mok (1847~1925), who used to be a practitioner. The total area is 85,094m2 (approximately 25,741 pyeong) and is equivalent to 2,655 billion won (based on the publicly announced land price). An official from the Ministry of Justice added, “Because it is based on the official land price, the actual redemption value is more.”
Earlier, the Ministry of Justice received a request to review the pro-Japanese property of Hongeun-dong, Seoul, from Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, which was reviewing the park construction project site in 2019, and last year, when it received a request for redemption of the rest of the land from the Liberation Council, it conducted a data investigation and legal review. In the process, in order to prevent the descendants of pro-Japanese actors from disposing of the land, an application was filed with the court for interim disposition, and the court made a decision to cite it. The land owned by the descendants of Ki-Yong Lee was already disposed of by a third party, so it was excluded from the application for provisional injunction. The Ministry of Justice said, “Some of the total 66 parcels of the requested land were held on the grounds of lack of evidence for recognition of consideration and completion of the extinctive prescription.”
Former President Roh Moo-hyun is having a conversation after the presentation of the appointment ceremony for the members of the Pro-General National Actors Property Investigation Committee held at the Blue House on July 13, 2006. Central photo
The government’s return of pro-Japanese property is in accordance with the Pro-Japanese Property Retention Act enacted in 2005. This Act stipulates that the property of pro-Japanese actors acquired in exchange for cooperation in Japanese imperialism from the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War (February 1904), when the invasion of national power began, until August 15, 1945, when the national power was restored, is vested in the state. . Originally established in 2006, the Pro-general People’s Actors Property Investigation Committee, directly under the presidential office, was in charge of this belonging to the Ministry of Justice since 2010 when the committee completed its activities. Since 2010, a total of 19 lawsuits have been filed for about 10 years and 6 months, and 17 cases have been won. As a result, the pro-Japanese actor’s assets of about 26 billion won (based on the publicly announced land price) have been returned to the government.
Reporter Ha Junho [email protected]
