The Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty: Signing, Promulgation and Colonial Takeover in 1910

On August 22, 1910, Japanese Resident-General Terauchi Masatake and Korean Prime Minister Yi Wan-yong signed the document commonly called the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty in Seoul. Following promulgation on August 29, Japan implemented annexation and absorbed the Korean Empire’s governing institutions into a colonial administrative system.

Japan had already progressively taken control of Korea’s foreign affairs, military and domestic government. U.S. ambassador to Japan Thomas O’Brien reported in July 1910 that Korean legislation and important administrative measures required the resident-general’s prior approval. A June 24 police memorandum transferred policing to Japan. The reorganized force used Japanese gendarmes as its backbone, extending from a central police administration in Seoul to provincial and local bodies. Korea’s remaining powers of independent government were already sharply reduced before signing.

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The preamble named Terauchi and Yi as plenipotentiaries appointed by their emperors. The signatures used August 22 in Meiji 43 and Yunghui 4, both corresponding to August 22, 1910. On August 24, Japanese ambassador Uchida Yasuya supplied an English translation to the U.S. State Department, notifying a foreign government ahead of the public announcement.

Article 8 stated that both emperors had already approved the treaty and that it would take effect upon promulgation. It specified no separate date for an exchange of ratifications. Japan’s accompanying declaration explicitly identified August 29. August 22 was thus the representatives’ signing date, and August 29 the date of promulgation and implementation under the annexation system. Whether the emperor truly consented and whether the procedures were sufficient became central issues in subsequent legal debates.

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The first two articles formed the core. Article 1 declared the complete and permanent cession of all rights of sovereignty over the whole of Korea from the Korean emperor to the Japanese emperor. Article 2 accepted that cession and agreed to annex Korea to the Japanese Empire. They concerned the comprehensive transfer of state sovereignty and governing power.

Articles 3 and 4 promised titles, treatment and financial maintenance for the Korean emperor, former emperor, crown prince and other imperial family members. Article 5 provided titles and money for Koreans deemed meritorious. Article 6 assigned all administration to Japan and promised protection of the persons, property and welfare of law-abiding Koreans. Article 7 made Korean appointments to public office conditional on acceptance of the new regime, qualifications and circumstances. Royal privileges and official recruitment were therefore part of the transfer arrangement.

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Japan’s Imperial Ordinance No. 318, issued on August 29, changed the official designation from Korea to Chosen. Ordinance No. 319 established the Government-General, assigning the governor-general responsibility for administration and command of army and navy forces within his authority. Transitional provisions allowed the resident-general to act as governor-general while the existing Residency-General and subordinate bodies continued temporarily.

Korean government agencies, except the cabinet and decorations office, were placed under the Government-General. Existing officials temporarily retained corresponding treatment. O’Brien’s September 19 report explained that this was an interim organization and that fuller regulations had yet to be promulgated. Annexation proceeded through taking over existing offices, changing their reporting relationships and redefining the source of authority.

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Japan declared that Korea’s previous treaties with foreign countries would cease to apply, while Japan’s existing treaties would extend to Chosen as far as practicable. It indicated that cases already pending in foreign consular courts could continue to judgment there, addressing the transition of jurisdiction.

The declaration maintained existing import and export duties and vessel tonnage dues for ten years. Goods and ships moving between Japan and Chosen would face the same arrangements. Eligible foreign vessels could also continue coastal trade between specified ports during that period. These measures addressed foreign governments’ and merchants’ existing commercial interests, forming a distinct policy arrangement from the treaty’s welfare promises to Koreans.

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Japan’s colonial rule over Korea lasted until 1945. When Japan and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1965, Article II of the Treaty on Basic Relations confirmed that treaties and agreements between the two empires on or before August 22, 1910, were already null and void. The wording did not resolve disagreement over whether annexation had been lawful at the time.

Subsequent scholarship examined coercion, representative authority, and the signing and approval of imperial proclamations. Park Pae-Keun’s 2010 paper reviewed debates involving Yi Tae-jin and Unno Fukuju and argued that a sovereign transfer required valid authorization and approval; treaty form alone could not constitute valid consent. The history of Japan’s actual rule over Korea thus continued to be accompanied by disputes over treaty validity and colonial responsibility.

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