일제하 경성지방법원 인천지청 폐지반대운동 연구

Abstract

This study analyzed the historical meaning and characteristics of the movements against the abolition and for the restorative establishment of the Incheon Regional Office of the Gyeongseong District Court by Incheon citizen in the 1930s by examining the background of the abolition and the development and leading groups of the movements. In the winter of 1931, the rumor began to spread that the Incheon Regional Office would be abolished according to the administrative adjustment policy of the Government‐General of Korea. If the Incheon Regional Office was abolished, not only Incheon citizens but also all the residents in Gimpo, Ganghwa, and Bucheon Counties within the jurisdiction of the Incheon Regional Office had to go to Seoul for administrative services related to court trials, suffering a great loss of time and money. Therefore, opposing the policy resolutely, Incheon citizens and others waged a movement against the abolition of the Incheon Regional Office. Under the leadership of the Mayor of Incheon, public officials and interested organizations such as Incheon City Congress, Incheon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Incheon Taxation Promotion Association took the lead of the movement. In particular, the Incheon Taxation Promotion Association, which was organized by Japanese and Korean influential persons in Incheon, was deeply involved in the campaign. The members of this organization had formed a network of local influential persons by participating in the Incheon Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Incheon City Congress representing their interests. In order to avoid head‐on collision with the Government‐General of Korea, they chose so‐called ‘rational methods of movement,’ namely, petition and lobby to relevant authorities. Despite the movement against abolition, however, the Incheon Regional Office was officially closed on February 15, 1932. From that time on, Incheon residents persistently demanded the restorative establishment of the Incheon Regional Office, and in the course an agreement was reached between the Government‐General of Korea and the leaders of Incheon to construct a new building for the Incheon Regional Office as a condition for restorative establishment. The estimated cost of new office building construction was 40,000 won. Thus, the leaders of Incheon held the meeting of the Commission on the Restoration of the Incheon Regional Office, allocated amounts to be raised to a city and three counties (Incheon City, and Bucheon, Ganghwa and Gimpo Counties), appointed fundraisers, and sent them to each area. The fundraising for new office building construction was not successful due to conflict of interests among the areas. For example, Kimpo County, which was closest to the Gyeongseong District Court, was not so active for the restoration of the Incheon Regional Office and many of its residents opposed fundraising. After all, Kimpo County failed to raise 5,000 won allocated to the area. The construction of the new office building was promoted through these conflicts among the involved areas, and was finally completed in May 1935. In the middle of the construction, the Incheon Regional Office was reestablished in September 1934. These movements waged by Incheon residents are considered successful ‘civil petitions’ that brought about the restoration of the Incheon Regional Office. On the other hand, they showed limitations such as the leaders’ limitedness and lack of communication among involved areas.