Formally, the constitution appeared to adopt the framework of a constitutional monarchy. However, its actual effect was to legitimize [[absolute monarchy]] under the guise of modern constitutional form. The name ”kukche” (국제), itself implies that it was a constitutional document expressing absolute monarchy.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Park (박) |first= Hyunmo (현모) |date= 2009 |title=”왕조”에서 ‘제국’으로의 전환: ‘정국대전체제’의 해체와 대한제국 출범의 정치사적 의며 연구 |url= https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART001355141 |trans-title= From Kingdom to Empire: Birth of the Daehan Empire and the Dismantling of the Gyeongguk daejeon System |journal= Journal of Korean Politics (한국정치연구) |volume= 18 |issue= 2 |language= Korean |location= [[Seoul]] |publisher= Institute of Korean Political Studies of SNU (서울대학교 한국정치연구소) |pages= 1-25 |quote= 여기서 우선 법규교정소 총재 윤용선(尹答善) 둥이 헌법이 아닌 국제‘라는 명칭을 사용한 것은 그 내용이 국회에서 제정된 것이 아니라 황재명으로 제정 반포 되었기 때문이다. |trans-quote= Firstly, the President of the Law Codification Office, Yun Yongsŏn (尹容善), utilized the name ‘kukche’ instead of ‘hŏnpŏp’ [constitution pertaining to a liberal political order] because the contents [of the ‘kukche’] were not enacted by a state-level legislature, but instead were enacted and promulgated under the order of the Emperor.}}</ref> The emperor was granted unlimited and inviolable sovereignty, encompassing legislative, executive, judicial, diplomatic, and military powers.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!– not stated –> |title= 주제로 본 한국사 > 고종과 대한제국의 개혁과 좌절 > 3. 대한제국의 권력구조와 정치 개혁운동 > 2) 대한국 국제와 황제권의 위상 |url= https://contents.history.go.kr/front/ht/view.do?levelId=ht_003_0030_0020_0020 |trans-title= Korean History by Topic > The Reform and Defeat of King Gojong and the Korean Empire > 3. The Power Structure and Political Reform Movements of the Korean Empire > 2) The Constitution of the Korean Empire and the Status of the Imperial Authority |website= Uri Yeoksa Net (우리역사넷) |language= Korean |location= [[Gwacheon]] |publisher= [[National Institute of Korean History]]}}</ref> It does not mention the existance or role of the state-level legislature, [[Chungch’uwŏn]].
Formally, the constitution appeared to adopt the framework of a constitutional monarchy. However, its actual effect was to legitimize [[absolute monarchy]] under the guise of modern constitutional form. The name ”kukche” (국제), itself implies that it was a constitutional document expressing absolute monarchy.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Park (박) |first= Hyunmo (현모) |date= 2009 |title=”왕조”에서 ‘제국’으로의 전환: ‘정국대전체제’의 해체와 대한제국 출범의 정치사적 의며 연구 |url= https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART001355141 |trans-title= From Kingdom to Empire: Birth of the Daehan Empire and the Dismantling of the Gyeongguk daejeon System |journal= Journal of Korean Politics (한국정치연구) |volume= 18 |issue= 2 |language= Korean |location= [[Seoul]] |publisher= Institute of Korean Political Studies of SNU (서울대학교 한국정치연구소) |pages= 1-25 |quote= 여기서 우선 법규교정소 총재 윤용선(尹答善) 둥이 헌법이 아닌 국제‘라는 명칭을 사용한 것은 그 내용이 국회에서 제정된 것이 아니라 황재명으로 제정 반포 되었기 때문이다. |trans-quote= Firstly, the President of the Law Codification Office, Yun Yongsŏn (尹容善), utilized the name ‘kukche’ instead of ‘hŏnpŏp’ [constitution pertaining to a liberal political order] because the contents [of the ‘kukche’] were not enacted by a state-level legislature, but instead were enacted and promulgated under the order of the Emperor.}}</ref> The emperor was granted unlimited and inviolable sovereignty, encompassing legislative, executive, judicial, diplomatic, and military powers.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!– not stated –> |title= 주제로 본 한국사 > 고종과 대한제국의 개혁과 좌절 > 3. 대한제국의 권력구조와 정치 개혁운동 > 2) 대한국 국제와 황제권의 위상 |url= https://contents.history.go.kr/front/ht/view.do?levelId=ht_003_0030_0020_0020 |trans-title= Korean History by Topic > The Reform and Defeat of King Gojong and the Korean Empire > 3. The Power Structure and Political Reform Movements of the Korean Empire > 2) The Constitution of the Korean Empire and the Status of the Imperial Authority |website= Uri Yeoksa Net (우리역사넷) |language= Korean |location= [[Gwacheon]] |publisher= [[National Institute of Korean History]]}}</ref> It does not mention the existance or role of the state-level legislature, [[Chungch’uwŏn]].
Below is the full text of the Constitution of the Korean Empire translated into the English language.
of the Constitution of the Korean Empire
{{Wikisource|ko:대한국 국제}}
”’Article 1”’ – The Korean Empire is an independent and autonomous empire recognized by all nations of the world.
”’Article 1”’ – The Korean Empire is an independent and autonomous empire recognized by all nations of the world.
1899 document
The Constitution of the Korean Empire (Korean: 대한국 국제; Hanja: 大韓國國制; MR: Taehan’guk kukche; lit. ‘National Constitution of the Korean Empire’) was proclaimed on August 14, 1899 (Gwangmu 3) in the Korean Empire under the authority of the Emperor of Korea, Gojong. Some historians regard it as Korea’s first modern constitution. It was materialized as a demand for modernization,[1] during the Kwangmu Reform. Although it outwardly adopted the form of a constitutional monarchy, the document in practice enshrined the emperor’s absolute authority, omitting any provisions guaranteeing the rights of the people.[2]
The constitution was drafted by Yun Yongsŏn (尹容善), President of the Law Codification Office (法規校正所, Pŏpkyu Kyojŏngso), together with legislative officials Sŏ Chŏngsun (徐正淳), Yi Chaesun (李載純), and foreign advisers Charles Le Gendre (李善得, Yi Sŏndŏk), John McLeavy Brown (柏卓安, Paek T’agan), and Clarence Ridgley Greathouse (具禮, Ku Rye).[2]
The draft consisted of nine articles and received imperial approval in 1899. It was promulgated on August 17, 1899, by imperial decree (choch’ŏk, 詔勅) and pongji (奉旨, “by imperial order”).
The constitution remained in force until the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907, which significantly curtailed Korean sovereignty, and was effectively nullified with the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910.
Formally, the constitution appeared to adopt the framework of a constitutional monarchy. However, its actual effect was to legitimize absolute monarchy under the guise of modern constitutional form. The name kukche (국제), itself implies that it was a constitutional document expressing absolute monarchy.[3] The emperor was granted unlimited and inviolable sovereignty, encompassing legislative, executive, judicial, diplomatic, and military powers.[4] It does not mention the existance or role of the state-level legislature, Chungch’uwŏn.
English translation of the Constitution of the Korean Empire
[edit]
Article 1 – The Korean Empire is an independent and autonomous empire recognized by all nations of the world.
Article 2 – The politics of the Korean Empire follow the traditions of the past five hundred years, and shall hereafter remain unchanged for all eternity as an absolute monarchy.
Article 3 – The Emperor of Korea enjoys unlimited sovereign authority, a self-standing form of government recognized by public law.
Article 4 – Any subject of the Korean Empire who commits an act that infringes upon the sovereign authority of the emperor shall, regardless of whether the act is completed or attempted, be regarded as having abandoned the duties of a subject.
Article 5 – The Emperor commands the army and navy of the empire, determines their organization, and may declare or lift martial law.
Article 6 – The Emperor enacts laws, orders their promulgation and enforcement, revises domestic laws in reference to universally accepted international laws, and grants general amnesties, special pardons, commutations, and restorations of rights.
Article 7 – The Emperor establishes or revises the organization of government ministries and the salaries of civil and military officials, and issues necessary imperial ordinances for administration.
Article 8 – The Emperor appoints, promotes, demotes, and dismisses civil and military officials, and confers or revokes titles, decorations, and other honors.
Article 9 – The Emperor dispatches envoys to treaty nations, accredits them, and concludes declarations of war, peace treaties, and various agreements.
- ^ Jang (장), Yeong-su (영수) (2023-12-26). 대한민국 헌법의 역사 [The History of the Constiutions in the Republic of Korea] (in Korean). Seoul: Korea University Press (고려대학교 출판문화원). p. 38. ISBN 979-1169560511.
그리고 대한제국의 정체(政體)와 군권(君權) 등의 국제를 제정하여 내외에 밝혀야 하겠다는 현실적 필요성에서 제정된 것이 1899년 제정·반포된 「대한제국국제」이다.
[Also, the Constitution of the Korean Empire that was enacted and promulgated is the product of the practical need to create and declare the constitution of state in terms of its political system and the sovereign’s powers within the state and overseas.] - ^ a b 서영희. “대한국국제(大韓國國制)”. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies.
- ^ Park (박), Hyunmo (현모) (2009). “‘왕조’에서 ‘제국’으로의 전환: ‘정국대전체제’의 해체와 대한제국 출범의 정치사적 의며 연구” [From Kingdom to Empire: Birth of the Daehan Empire and the Dismantling of the Gyeongguk daejeon System]. Journal of Korean Politics (한국정치연구) (in Korean). 18 (2). Seoul: Institute of Korean Political Studies of SNU (서울대학교 한국정치연구소): 1–25.
여기서 우선 법규교정소 총재 윤용선(尹答善) 둥이 헌법이 아닌 국제’라는 명칭을 사용한 것은 그 내용이 국회에서 제정된 것이 아니라 황재명으로 제정 반포 되었기 때문이다.
[Firstly, the President of the Law Codification Office, Yun Yongsŏn (尹容善), utilized the name ‘kukche’ instead of ‘hŏnpŏp’ [constitution pertaining to a liberal political order] because the contents [of the ‘kukche’] were not enacted by a state-level legislature, but instead were enacted and promulgated under the order of the Emperor.] - ^ “주제로 본 한국사 > 고종과 대한제국의 개혁과 좌절 > 3. 대한제국의 권력구조와 정치 개혁운동 > 2) 대한국 국제와 황제권의 위상” [Korean History by Topic > The Reform and Defeat of King Gojong and the Korean Empire > 3. The Power Structure and Political Reform Movements of the Korean Empire > 2) The Constitution of the Korean Empire and the Status of the Imperial Authority]. Uri Yeoksa Net (우리역사넷) (in Korean). Gwacheon: National Institute of Korean History.
