‘韓國倂合’에 대한 일본의 정책적 일관성 검토 －「對韓施設綱領」과 「對韓施設大綱」의 비교를 중심으로－

Abstract

In the meantime, many studies have been conducted on ‘the Annexation of Korea by Japan’. Most of the research have been focused on the top-ranked powers, such as Hirobumi Ito(伊藤博文), Masatake Teruchi(寺內正毅), and Taro Katsura(桂太郞), and unilaterally highlighted a frame of the confrontation between the civilian faction and the military faction. As a result, the political decision or rivalry of the highest power class was highlighted as interest-oriented, and the process of the practical “the annexation of Korea” policy in Japan was neglected. In particular, there are not many studies that can generally grasp the situation in Korea just before ‘the Annexation of Korea by Japan’, namely, To what scale and to what level Japan's invasion of national sovereignty has progressed. Although Korea was destroyed on August 29, 1910 and forcibly annexed as part of Japan, there was no particular confusion in both Korea and Japan. The reasons may vary, but most of all, it is important that most of Korea's political, diplomatic, military and economic real power was already robbed by Japan, as of July 1909. This situation was the result of Japanese officials carrying out their duties in accordance with the policies of the Japanese government in each sector involved. In this period, the guidelines for policy implementation were provided to them. It’s ‘The Guidelines for Korea(「對韓施設綱領」)’ in 1904 and ‘The Code of Conduct for Korea(「對韓施設大綱」)’ in 1909. These two detailed implementation guidelines provide specific national real powers that Japan should secure from Korea at the time of establishment. The two documents above are located on a continuous line, either in terms of being prepared as an action plan for Japan's Korean policy, or in terms of a narrative system that expands Japan's power through diplomacy, economy, and politics (administration) based on military power. The activities of policy makers on the “the Annexation of Korea by Japan” change according to the international situation and domestic political situation, but the activities of the working-level officials have been consistent from the “Eulsa Treaty(1905)” to “the Annexation of Korea by Japan”. Explaining this is ‘The Guidelines for Korea’ and ‘The Code of Conduct for Korea’. And from this, it can be seen that ‘the Annexation of Korea by Japan’ was not implemented suddenly one day, but was a policy promoted by the Japanese government with a long-term consistency as a national policy under the general agreement and support of the Japanese people and Japanese society.