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Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty | |
|---|---|
| Korean Name | |
| Hangul | 한일병합조약 |
| Hanja | 韓日倂合條約 |
| Japanese Name | |
| Kanji | 日韓併合条約 |
| Hiragana | にっかんへいごうじょうやく |
| Rōmaji | Nikkan Heigō Jōyaku |
The Treaty of Annexation of Korea by Japan, also called in Korea 경술국치(庚戌國恥), meaning Humiliation of the Nation in the Year of the Dog, was signed on August 22, 1910 by the representatives of the Korean and Japanese Imperial Governments. This began the de facto period of Japanese rule in Korea. The treaty had eight articles, number one being: "His Majesty the Emperor of Korea makes the complete and permanent cession to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan of all rights of sovereignty over the whole of Korea."
The legality of the Treaty is disputed, and its legitimacy has been rejected in Korea ever since, and later by the Allied forces that occupied Japan at the end of World War II.[citation needed] The Emperor of Korea, Emperor Yung-hui, refused to sign the treaty as required, and the treaty, while affixed with the national seal of the Korean Empire, does not bear his signature as dictated by Korean law. The treaty was instead signed by Prime Minister Lee Wan-Yong of Korea and Resident General Count Terauchi Masatake of Japan. In his last testament in 1926, Emperor Yung-hui affirmed that the treaty was forced through by ministers threatened and bribed by the Japanese.[citation needed] It is believed that the seal was originally hidden by Empress Sunjeong, and that it was physically forced off her by others. The people who signed and agreed to the treaty were Korean ministers who had secretly agreed with the Japanese government prior to the actual signing of the treaty.
The 1965 Treaty of Basic Relations between South Korea and Japan declared that
It is confirmed that all treaties or agreements concluded between the Empire of Japan and the Empire of Korea on or before August 22, 1910 are already null and void.
Japanese government has interpreted, based on this 1965 treaty, that the 1919 treaty had been valid because the new treaty contains the term "already" before "null and void" while both South and North Korean governments have claimed that the old treaty had been invalid since the time it was concluded.
- Japan – Korea Annexation Treaty (English)
- Yutaka Kawasaki, "Was the 1910 Annexation Treaty Between Korea and Japan Concluded Legally?", Murdoch University Journal of Law, Volume 3, Number 2 (July 1996).
