Book X 607
offer sacrifices to Mt. Paegak and to send officials to various temples to hold
the ceremony for eliminating disasters.
5th Day (Kyŏngsin)
The Board of Punishments decided on the penalties for the officials of the
Court of Royal Sacrifices in accordance with the law. As a result, Ch’oe
Kyŏn was sentenced to death by strangulation, and An Sŏng and Kim Pun
to one hundred strokes of a paddle and three years of hard labor. Having
heard of it, Left Chancellor Cho Chun felt sorry for them and said, “Is
Kyŏn’s offense serious enough to deserve such punishment?” Then he
reviewed the provisions of law relating to their punishments together with
Sŏl Changsu, director of the State Finance Commission, and Tang Sŏng,
minister [of personnel], and went into the palace to have an audience with
the king, still holding the law code in his hand. When they appealed to him,
the king followed their advice.
Consequently, Kyŏn was sentenced to hard labor and exiled to Kimhae
after being struck one hundred times with a paddle. Sŏng and others were
also punished physically, though in different degrees, and sent into exile.
Sŏng was sent to Ch’uksan, Pun to Kaksan, Sim Ŏn to Sunch’ŏn, and Sajing
to Kangju. The officials, including Chŏn Paegyŏng, Yi Hwang, Maeng
Sasŏng, and Cho Sasu, were all dismissed from office; and as for Hŭigye, he
was granted the new posthumous title of Yanggyŏng.
6th Day (Sinyu)
There was fog, and the fog persisted until the following day.
9th Day (Kapcha)
The Privy Council submitted a memorial to the king:
“Since the conferment of posthumous titles is one of the important affairs
of state, it cannot be entrusted exclusively to the erudites of the Court of
Royal Sacrifices. We request that the matter be discussed first by the offi-
cials of the Court of Royal Sacrifices, including the chamberlain, and
reported to the Privy Council so that the latter can submit it to the king.
This procedure should be made into law.”