Book I 159the district of Taegu,^162 and Sungin was among them. However, he was
called back to the royal court as assistant master (sasŏng) of the National
University.
In the Sinyu year (1380), his mother passed away, and in the Imsul year
(1382), he was ordered to serve in the government despite still being in
mourning. Thus, he supervised the National University examination as senior
military protector of the Left and Right Guard. He did not decline this job
opportunity because it happened a year after his mother passed away, and
his father was still alive. However, people thought it inappropriate. After -
wards, he served as minister of personnel (chŏlli p’ansŏ) and was promoted
in rank to be academician of the Security Council (milchik chehak).^163
In the Pyŏngin year (1386), he visited the Chinese court as New Year
embassy (hajŏngsa), and in the spring of the Mujin year (1388), he was
exiled to T’ongju16 4 due to the slander of Chŏng Sŭngga,^165 a man who
worked for Ch’oe Yŏng as an advisor. But when Yŏng was driven out, he
was recalled to the royal court to serve as administrative commissioner of
the Security Council. In the winter of the same year, Left Chancellor Yi
Saek visited the Chinese court and made Yi Sungin his deputy in his diplo-
matic mission.
In the autumn of the Kisa year (1389), a man came from Japan and pre-
sented himself as Lord of Yŏnghŭng. Because he was related to the man’s
family by marriage, Sungin knew him well and exposed his true identity; in
the process, however, Sungin was exiled to Sŏngju.
In the summer of the Kyŏngo year (1390), he became implicated in the
incident of Yun I and Yi Ch’o^166 and was imprisoned in Ch’ŏngju but was
over the matter of dispatching his son Ikgyŏm as the commander of the expedition forces
against Japanese invaders and attempted to eliminate Yi Inim and Ch’oe Yŏng. When his
conspiracy was discovered, he was executed with his family and clique.- Located in North Kyŏngsang province.
- The rank of both minister of personnel and academician of the Security Council is
actually 3a. - Sŏnch’ŏn, North P’yŏngan Province.
- Chŏng Sŭngga (?–1388): a military official of late Koryŏ. He served as senior military
protector of the Soaring Falcon Guard. Though he participated in the military campaign
against Liaodong, China, he was reluctant to join Yi Sŏnggye, who turned his army around to
march back home. As Yi’s army took the capital, he ran away but was captured and executed. - Yun I and Yi Ch’o made a false report to the Ming government regarding the
enthronement of King Kongyang and in consequence many officials were interrogated and
imprisoned.