Records show annexation treaty invalid

2010-08-11 18:22

Historical documents showed that the treaty that put Korea under Japan’s colonial rule 100 years ago was invalid under international law as the Korean king didn’t use the state seal to proclaim it.

The original copy of the Korean proclamation of the annexation treaty on Aug. 29, 1910, contained only King Sunjong’s privy seal, which was used solely for administrative approvals, and didn’t have the state seal of Korea.

The Japanese edict of the same treaty, however, was stamped with the state seal and had the signature of Emperor Meiji, who signed it with his personal name, Mutsuhito, according to the document.

This discrepancy challenges the Japanese assertion that the annexation took effect legally with the approval of King Sunjong.

Korean (left) and Japanese edicts proclaiming the annexation treaty on Aug. 29, 1910 Yonhap News

Photographs of the Korean and Japanese documents were disclosed by Lee Tae-jin, professor emeritus at Seoul National University.

The treaty was signed on Aug. 22, 1910, between pro-Japan Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-yong and Japanese Governor General of Korea Terauchi Masatake. It said Korea‘s king “makes complete and permanent cession” to Japan over Korea.

King Sunjong left his personal signature and the state seal on the treaty itself but, according to the latest documents, he did not do so on the royal edict, which was required for the treaty to take effect.

“The documents show that the annexation treaty didn’t have the legal requirements,” Lee said.

“When you compare the two edicts, it is obvious that King Sunjong never agreed to the treaty.”

The Korean royal palace was occupied by the Japanese army at that time as a result of Tokyo’s long-term invasion strategy involving a series of unequal deals and a Korean queen had been murdered 15 years earlier.

The day the forced treaty came into effect, Aug. 29, is known in Korea as “the day of national shame.”

For years, intellectuals from both Korea and Japan have demanded Japan to admit that the treaty was invalid because it was forced upon the Korean people and the course of events leading up to the annexation was unjust.

The two nations normalized diplomatic relations in 1965 with the Treaty of Basic Relations, which declared that all treaties or agreements signed before Aug. 22, 1910, are “already null and void.”

But the description is still ambiguous in Japan, which claims the annexation was valid at the time, even though it was later nullified by Korea‘s liberation in 1945.

On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan offered his “heartfelt apology” for the damage and suffering caused by Japan’s colonial rule, which he said was imposed against the Korean people’s will.

The edicts of the treaty will be displayed at an upcoming historic exhibition on modern history of Korea-Japan relations, to be held from Aug. 20-30 at the National Assembly Library in Seoul.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldm.com)