340 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
17th Day (Chŏngsa)
The king dispatched Kim Yŏnghwa, judge of the Capital Constabulary
(Sun’gun chinmu), Chiliarch Yu Yang, and others to relocate the Wang clan
members to Kŏje Island. He also sent General- in- Chief Sim Hyosaeng to
have Wang Hwa and Wang Kŏ confined in Andong Prison.18th Day (Muo)
The king sent an official to Pak Wi [in prison] to persuade him, bestowing
wine and taking off his handcuffs. He said, “How can I believe that you did
such a thing? If Kahaeng and Chungjil arrive and you prove your case, you
will be released soon. Since this incident had to do with the security of the
state, I was not able to interfere in it personally. So I had no choice but to
have you confined. I completely forgive people regardless of their crimes.
Then how can I make you an exception? Trust me and do not be agitated.”Kwŏn Chu, former third royal secretary, died. His clan seat was Andong. He
was the son of Kwŏn Yŏm, Lord of Hyŏnbok, and the grandson of Kwŏn
Yŏm, Lord of Kilch’ang. Being upright and sincere, he devoted himself to
his studies and passed the civil service examination. He was appointed to
various important posts, concurrently serving in the prestigious Office of
Special Counselors and at the National Academy. Early in his career he
became the magistrate of two districts, Ch’ungju and Hwangju, and gov-
erned them both with benevolence. Thereafter, he was summoned to the
capital to serve as chief royal secretary (chisinsa), and when he presided
over the civil service examination at the National Academy, no one found
fault with him. His rank reached academician of the Security Council.
He had two sons, Hun and Po, and they both passed the civil service exam-
ination.The government had the stipend of the sinecure officials (kŏmgyo)^8 of each
rank fixed lower than that of regular officials by three grades.- During Koryŏ and Chosŏn, sinecures called kŏmgyo were awarded to those who ren-
dered service to the country. Since the number of offices and positions were limited by law,
this system served to curb the expansion of the government bureaucracy. However, as the
number of titular position holders increased later, it brought about the loss of national revenue
because they were exempted from various privileges and duties.