19세기 후반 고종의 불법 홍삼무역과 비자금

Abstract

King Gojong paid attention to red ginseng trade, which could acquire silver, and exercised exclusive authority over red ginseng and red ginseng trade after opening the ports. After allocating most of Posam(포삼, Red ginseng for the trade of envoys) to the royal family in 1884, King Gojong directly controlled the red ginseng trade and collected the trade money. And he also engaged in illegal red ginseng trade.
 King Gojong’s illegal red ginseng trade had not been revealed because it was conducted in secret. However, it was revealed through slush funds given to Min Young-ik in 1885, illegal trade of 2,600 Keun(근, Korean Unit of Weight) of red ginseng in 1888, and smuggling 800 Keun of red ginseng into the Shanghai maritime customs in 1889.
 King Gojong illegally traded hundreds and thousands of Keun of red ginseng, he earned tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of nyangs(냥, monetary unit of Joseon) of silver. He made the huge sum of money into slush funds.
 King Gojong’s slush funds were deposited at a foreign bank in Hong Kong under a borrowed account, and were used for political and diplomatic lobbying funds, political removal, and espionage activities. King Gojong’s illegal red ginseng trade was mainly carried out in Shanghai and Hong Kong in China.
 King Gojong’s illegal red ginseng trade and slush funds were a countermeasure against extraordinary times such as foreign pressure and invasion, and Joseon’s civil unrest and revolution. And it was King Gojong’s political choice to protect the throne and the throne. However, it was far from the policy of the enrich and strengthen of state and the provision of the poor national finances, which were urgent tasks at the time.