갑오개혁기 개항장 監理署 일시 폐지의 배경

The Background of the Temporary Abolition of Gamriseo(監理署) during the Period of ‘Reform of 1894(Gabo Reform)’

During the period of ‘Reform of 1894’, J. Mcleavy Brown, who took the initiative in the Korean Customs amid competitions by the Great Powers surrounding the structure reform of the Korean Customs, claimed to abolish Gamriseo in order to get the right to manage customs revenue on imports and exports. Along with this, the reformation of the local administration system, which aimed to cut budget, reduce the competence of the local government chief and seek after the efficiency of the administration system, was carried into effect on June, 1895. As a result, Gamriseo was abolished and its duties were taken over to the provincial governors(觀察使). This was what Japan also wanted because of having suffered from the anti-Japan attitude of the staff of Gamriseo during the Sino-Japanese War(淸·日戰爭) in 1894, and this Japanese hope is presumed to have affected the abolition of Gamriseo via Japanese councilors in Korean Government, who actually planned the 1895 reformation of the local administration system. But this step was what didn’t fully reflected the reality at that time because the administration on the control over foreigners at the treaty ports and open markets suffered from lack of budget after the abolition of Gamriseo. And the government organization mismatch between the provincial governors and the county headmen(郡守), both taking over the duties of the abolished Gamriseo, was an another problem. These problems could be solved when Gamriseo reopened in 1896, after the decline of the Japanese power from the Korean political world caused by Korean royal refuge at the Russian legation(俄館播遷; Agwan Pacheon).