재정고문 메가타 다네타로(目賀田種太郞)의 한국재정 인식과 재정정리(1904~1907)

Abstract

This study focused on how Japanese financial advisor Megata Tanetaro (目賀田種太郞) recognized Korea's finances and how it affected the fiscal reorganization project. Megata investigated and studied Korean finance from around 1899, before he was appointed as a Japanese financial advisor, and conducted a financial survey for about seven months even after he was appointed. Although there were difficulties due to Lee Yong-ik's(李容翊) continued resistance and King Gojong's(高宗) cold attitude, Megata's financial investigation could be completed around May 1905 with the active defense of the Japanese cabinet and Hayashi Konsuke (林權助). As a result of the financial survey, Megata did not recognize Korea's fiscal system and recognized that there was no finance. Therefore, Megata was not intended to organize and supervise Korea's finances, but to build a completely new one. To this end, Megata took a method of reforming the monetary system, tightening expenditures, and organizing revenues as fiscal arrangements, and implementing them in order from urgent ones. The key to the reform of the monetary system was the reorganization of the Baek Dong-hwa(白銅貨). Recognizing that the decline in the value of money was due to the overissue of money, Megata established a method of reducing the amount of money by introducing the Matsukata fiscal(松方財政) bill arrangement method. It was a differential exchange method between 甲, 乙, and 丙. As a result, Koreans' monetary property was reduced and Korea was subordinated to Japan's monetary system. The purpose of austerity in expenditure was to strengthen control over the Korean finances by taking control of budgeting and spending. To this end, the Japanese Accounting Act was implemented to promote austerity, and a loan policy was implemented to cover the insufficient budget with loans and public bonds. The 11.5 million won loan strengthened its control over collateral, accelerating the subordination of Korea's finances. The purpose of organizing revenue was to increase revenue by reforming the taxation system. Recognizing that corruption of Korean officials was the cause, Megata organized a financial advisory department(財政顧問部) composed of Japanese officials to establish a supervisory system, and implemented a new a tax collection system, the tax officer system(管稅官官制), to increase revenue. In conclusion, Megata's fiscal consolidation was to transplant Japan's fiscal system, Japanese loans, and Japanese officials' supervision to Korea in order to subordinate Korea's finances to Japan.