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The Eulsa Treaty was made between Korean Empire and Japanese Empire on 17 November 1905, influenced by the result of the Russo-Japanese War. The delegates of the both Empires had exchanged the arguments to solve the matter that the Emperor Gojong of Korea(고종;高宗) sent a secret envoy Lee yong-Yik(이용익;李容翊) to France, and unilaterally breaking the Treaty of Ganghwa, which was admitted by the Korean minister of Justice Lee Ha-Young, then modified the contents of the treaty to-be in advance. Through the treaty, Korea ceded its foreign diplomacy to the Japanese Empire, became a protectorate of Japan, and in effect ceded its national sovereignty to Japan until the Korean Empire was empowered under the treaty.
Throughout the procedure of negotiation, Japanese troops were present near the palace in Korea, which some interpretted as a threat of retribution upon non-compliance. This and other preceived irregularities led some to dispute its authority, though it remained uncontested internationally until Japan's defeat in World War II, and subsequently was mutually declared null and void explicitly by the Basic Treaty between Japan and Korea of 1965 without ever experience a formal challenge.
The treaty was signed by five Korean officials:
- Minister of Education Lee Wan-Yong(이완용;李完用)
- Minister of Army Lee Geun Taek(이근택;李根澤)
- Minister of Interior Lee Ji-Yong(이지용;李址鎔)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Je-Sun(박제순;朴齊純)
- Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry Kwon Jung-Hyun(권중현;權重顯)
The treaty was not signed by some notable officials as well:
- Emperor Gojong of Korea, the official head of state of Korean Empire (whose signature was required for any law or treaty under the Korean law at the time [citation needed]).
- Prime Minister Han Gyu Seol(한규설;韓圭卨)
- Minister of Justice Lee Ha-Young(이하영;李夏榮)
- Minister of Finance Min Young Ki(민영기;閔泳綺)
This treaty laid the foundation for the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910, which lasted until the 1945 surrender of Japan in World War II.
Name
In the Korean calendar, eulsa is the Sexagenary Cycle's 42nd year in which the treaty was signed. In Japanese, the treaty is known under several names such as 第二次日韓協約, 乙巳保護条約 and 韓国保護条約.
Reception
The five Korean signatories to the treaty were despisingly called eulsa ojeok (乙巳五賊, "five Eulsa traitors") in Korean.
In 1907, the Korean Emperor Gojong sent three, secret emissaries, including Jun Lee, to the second international Hague Peace Convention to protest the unfairness of the Eulsa Treaty. Unable to gain entry into the convention hall due to Japanese interference, Lee committed self-immolation (suicide by self inflicted fire).
Implications
In 2004, the Korean government nullified the Gando Convention signed under Japanese military threat in 1909 between China and Japan, which expanded Japanese rights in Manchuria in exchange for China keeping the so-called "Gando region" to the north of Baekdu Mountain and Tumen River in what is now the Chinese Jilin province, then claimed by Japan purposely as a part of Korea.
In a joint statement on 23 June 2005, South Korean and North Korean officials reiterated their stance that the Eulsa treaty null and void on a claim of coercion by the Japanese.