It is now thirty-two years since We ascended the throne, but Our ruling influence has not extended wide. The Queen Min introduced her relatives to the Court and placed them about Our person, whereby she made dull Our senses, exposed the people to extortion, put Our Government in disorder, selling offices and titles. Hence tyranny prevailed all over the country and robbers arose in all quarters. Under these circumstances the foundation of Our dynasty was in imminent peril. We knew the extreme of her wickedness, but could not dismiss and punish her because of helplessness and fear of her party. We desire to stop and suppress her influence. In the twelfth moon of last year we took an oath at Our Ancestral Shrine that the Queen and her relatives and Ours should never again be allowed to interfere in State affairs. We hoped this would lead the Min faction to mend their ways. But the Queen did not give up her wickedness, but with her party aided a crowd of low fellows to rise up about Us and so managed as to prevent the Ministers of State from consulting Us. Moreover, they have forged Our signature to a decree to disband Our loyal soldiers, thereby instigating and raising a disturbance, and when it occurred she escaped as in the Im O year. We have endeavored to discover her whereabouts, but as she does not come forth and appear We are convinced that she is not only unfitted and unworthy of the Queen’s rank, but also that her guilt is excessive and brimful. Therefore with her We may not succeed to the glory of the Royal Ancestry. So We hereby depose her from the rank of Queen and reduce her to the level of the lowest class. Signed by YI CHAI-MYON, Minister of the Royal Household. KIM HONG-CHIP, Prime Minister. KIM YUN-SIK, Minister of Foreign Affairs. PAK CHONG-YANG, Minister of Home Affairs. SHIM SANG-HUN, Minister of Finance. CHO HEUI-YON, Minister of War. SO KWANG-POM, Minister of Justice. SO KWANG-POM, Minister of Education. CHONG PYONG-HA, Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. On the day following the issue of this fraudulent and infamous edict, another appeared in which Her Majesty, out of pity for the Crown Prince and as a reward for his deep devotion to his father, was “raised” by the King to the rank of “Concubine of the First Order”!