94 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
former Minister [of War] Yun Sojong, former Chief of the Bureau of Slave
Administration Nam Chae,^188 and Magistrate of Ch’ŏngju Cho Pak.^189
Kongyang ordered the Privy Council (Todang)^190 to discuss the memorial.
Instigating support for impeachment behind the scenes, Mongju sent the six
officials, including Cho Chun, into exile. He also sent his followers Kim
Kwiryŏn,^191 Yi Pan,^192 and others, separately, to the places where Cho Chun,
Chŏng Tojŏn, and Nam Ŭn were exiled, with the intention of killing them
during interrogation.
At the time when Kim Kwiryŏn and the others left on their mission, His
Majesty [King T’aejong] was in mourning for his mother, living in a thatched
hut beside her tomb in Sokch’on Village. When Yi Che^193 came to see him
with tea and fruits, His Majesty said, “Mongju will certainly not act in
the best interest of our family. He must be eliminated first.” Che agreed
with him.
His Majesty ran to T’aejo who happened to be staying at Pyŏngnando.^194
He said, “Mongju will certainly try to destroy our family.” T’aejo said
nothing. His Majesty said again, “You must return to the capital [Kaegŏng]
right away [unless you want to risk grave danger].” As he failed to obtain his- Nam Chae (1351–1419): an official of late Koryŏ and a dynasty-founding merit subject
of Chosŏn. He was a disciple of Yi Saek and the great-great-grandfather of General Nam I.
With his brother Nam Ŭn, he made great contributions to the founding of the Chosŏn dynasty
and served as chief state councilor during the reign of King T’aejong. - Cho Pak (1356–1408) impeached Yi Saek and Cho Minsu for enthroning King U and
King Ch’ang, who were suspected of being sired by monk Sin Ton. When the Chosŏn dynasty
was newly founded, he was appointed minister of rites and granted the title of “Dynasty-
Founding Merit Subject First Class” as well as Lord of P’yŏngwŏn. Later, he served as inspector-
general and governor of Chŏlla Province. - Also called Top’yŏngŭisa, Todang is the highest deliberative council for the affairs of
state and consists of the grand councilors of the Chancellery, the directors of the Security
Council, and the commissioners of the State Finance Commission. - Unknown.
- An official of late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. He served as third censor and vice section
chief of the Board of Punishments. - Yi Che (?–1398): an official of late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. He was the great-grandson
of Yi Chonyon, a famous scholar-official and poet, and the son of Yi Inip, the younger brother
of Yi Inim, chancellor during the reign of King U, who took control of the government and
abused his power. Having married Princess Kyŏngsun, the third daughter of T’aejo, he joined
the revolution led by T’aejo. He participated in the attempt to remove Chŏng Mongju and con-
tributed to T’aejo’s enthronement. However, he was killed along with Chŏng Tojŏn in the first
power struggle among the princes in 1398. - A port town at the mouth of the Yesŏng River in Hwanghae Province.