默齋 李貴의 行權에 대한 고찰

Abstract

Yi Gui (李貴) was a leading figure in the Coup of 1623 (also known as the Injo Restoration), and after the Coup, he was the person who sought the most political reform. At the same time, another element of Yi Gui is that he closely followed Quan(權) to a large extent. In this paper, I examine the important cases of Quan conducted by Yi Gui. Yi Gui's political attitude can be described as "political realism based on political responsibility and accountability." He believed that a responsible politician should not be bound solely by the principle (經), but should also be flexible (權) in response to the situation. However, he was generally blocked in his political plan because officials who valued 'just cause and moral faithfulness' based on Confucian principles accused him of his apparent rash deviation from moral principles. Most importantly, his strong argument that Joseon Korea must pretend to keep peace with Manchurian while secretly rebuilding the defense system was denied. The opposing faction, a group of people who stood on principle, just cause, and moral faithfulness to the Ming Dynasty, held that maintaining peace with Manchurian was wrong in itself. Nevertheless, they failed to give adequate attention to national defense at the same time. As a result, when Manchurian troops attacked, King Injo regretted not accepting Yi Gui's stance, as they easily captured the Korean Peninsula for the second time during his reign. As can be inferred from this, Yi Gui was correct in believing that his following Quan was appropriate for the scenario. So far, he gained a good reputation after his death as time went by.