Investigation

In 1475, it was reported to the Saheonbu that Yi had been cohabiting with Cheonrye, her slave.^[4] Heo Gye (허계), the head department of the Saheonbu, requested that the situation be investigated without resorting to interrogation. He proposed that Cheonrye be moved to his residence, where the man could be questioned.^[5] One official reported that his son travelling from Gwangju had heard rumours of an aristocratic lady who was liaising with a slave, while another official said that his servant had observed Cheonrye sleeping and eating in the room next to his mistress' bedchamber. Seongjong, however, refused to arrest Yi based on gossip alone.^[6][5] This caused much dispute amongst officials on the policy of 'arresting regardless of suspicion',^[7] which some argued should apply only to common people and not the private affairs of an aristocratic lady.^[5]

In 1489, the Saheonbu reported that Yi Guji had mothered a daughter by her slave, who had married the previous year. The officials now argued that, though any previous investigation had been dismissed, this was a case of public morality. Seongjong ordered that all servants be tortured to investigate the claim.^[8] Cheonrye died during the interrogation and more than 40 people were arrested.^[9] Though some members of the government argued that death was too strong a punishment for a woman of the royal clan,^[10] it was agreed that death was more respectful than torture, and Yi was condemned.^[11] Yi’s daughter, Jun-bi, was not involved in her mother’s investigation as she had already left home in 1488, a year before Yi was executed, and was considered a part of her husband’s family.

Notes

Works cited

• 성종실록 (成宗實錄) [Veritable Records of Seongjong] (in Korean). 1499.
• Uhn, Cho (1999). "The Invention of Chaste Motherhood: A Feminist Reading of the Remarriage Ban in the Chosun Era". Asian Journal of Women's Studies. 5 (3): 45–63. doi:10.1080/12259276.1999.11665854.