Yun Ung-ryeol (Korean : 윤웅렬; Hanja : 尹雄烈;18 May 1840 [1] –22 September 1911) was a Korean general and politician during the Joseon and Korean Empire periods. He was a member of the Gaehwa Party and a pro-Japanese scholar-official. He is also known as Yun Woong Niel or Yun Ung-nyeol. [2] His art name was Bangye (반계;磻溪).
Yun Ung-nyeol was a member of one of the prominent yangban families of Korea,the Haepyeong Yun clan (해평윤씨;海平尹氏). His family was considered wealthy, [3] which his father had paved the way to prominence by himself. From his early age,Yun and his younger brother were famous for their great physical abilities. [4]
At the age of 17,Yun went to Seoul by himself and took the Gwageo Military Examination,and passed the exam,making him an official. [4]
From 1881,Yun was in charge of the new army of Joseon Dynasty,also known as the Pyŏlgigun. As a member of the Gaehwa Party,Yun participated in the Gapsin Coup. After the short-lived new government was formed,Yun was appointed as Minister of Justice,and Vice mayor of Seoul. [5]
In 1904,Yun Ung-nyeol was appointed as the Korea's Minister of War. [6] On 30 September 1904,Yun was appointed as the Chief of Staff of Korean Empire [7] but he resigned on 30 January 1905 making him the last incumbent. [8] He died in 1911,aged 71.
In modern Korean historiography,General Yun has been designated one of the Chinilpa or pro-Japanese activists of the 1900s (decade). [9]