• Korea and Global Affairs
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.31-70
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• 2017

On December 9, 2016, the decision of impeachment of the National Assembly decided against Park Geun-hye came from the nomination conflicts of the 20th general election between Pro-Park group and Anti-Park group at the ruling Saenuri Party. Therefore, this study focused on the nomination conflicts of the ruling party and the opposition party on the election results in the 20th general election on the public sentiment of the people. The nomination conflicts of the ruling and opposite parties were a prelude to the victory of the 19th presidential election, and it was serious faction conflict. Firstly, the study examined how the nomination conflicts of each party were centered on President Park Geun-hye as well as the leaders of each party and the chairman of the nomination committee. Secondly, the study examined what kind of changes would be made to the composition of presidential candidates for each party at the time of the presidential election. Thirdly, the study examined the opposition parties' separation between the Minjoo Party of Korea and the People's Party of Korea before and after the election and the issue of initiative in Honam. As a result of the analysis, the 20th general election failed to obtain a majority seat of the ruling Saenuri Party, and the opposition won and formed the majority. The reason why President Park and Saenuri were greatly defeated in the contest even in the situation where the opposition parties were divided is the root cause in the attitude of Pro-Park group and Anti-Park group who assumed their victory. Therefore, it is highly possible to render its responsibility to President Park Geun-hye, who has become a 'past power', and it has opened up the possibility that the emergence of future power by opposition parties. In the case of the opposition party, it is clear that the battle for Honam, which is a traditional opposition party's support group, is a matter of good fortune of the two major powers, Moon Jae In and Ahn Cheol Soo.

• 한국학연구
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• no.50
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• pp.157-186
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• 2018

The study examines the process of resuming diplomatic relations and establishing a diplomatic system in the early 17th century. It focused on the discontinuity and continuity of the policy toward Japan in the end of King Seonjo's period and in the early days of Gwanghaegun. This is a studies on serial process of the restoration of peace after the Japanese Invasion of Korea. The process began with the Peace Negotiation, and led to the Resuming Diplastic Relations by dispatching Joseon Emissions to Japan in 1607. The Gwang'hae-gun regime agreed with Japan to sign on the Gi'yu-year agreement in 1609 and by doing so formed a platform for future Joseon-Japan diplomatic talks arranged through the Dae'ma-do/對馬島 island. Then, the Joseon government reinforced the principle of 'banning' Japanese envoys from approaching the Joseon capital, limiting the activities of the Japanese emissaries in Joseon territory to the Wae'gwan facility of the Dong'rae area. These actions of the Joseon government outlined the format for future diplomatic contacts with the Japanese in the dynasty's latter half period. At the time, when the Joseon people was facing Japanese presence in the south part of the Korean peninsula and the 'Jurchen' barbarians' in the north, Gwang'hae-gun considered 'maintaining relationships' with Japan and 'protecting the country' from the Jurchen threat as two top-level priorities for the Joseon defense. In order to do that, he had to establish Japan, which invaded Joseon for seven years in the 1590s, as a diplomatic partner to exchange talks with. He had to mitigate the anti-Japanese sentiment of the country's population, and intermediate clashing opinions in the policy discussion process. In the meantime, in order to deal with problems surfacing everywhere, Gwang'hae-gun maintained a stance of prioritizing the pursuit of public interest and amicable relationships, and not an ideological and principle-based one. It was quite a departure from the government's policy of the late 17th century.