Im Gwon (任權, January 5, 1486 – June 17, 1557) was a civil official, politician, scholar, and poet of mid-Joseon. His family seat was Pungcheon (豊川), his courtesy name was Sagyeong (士經), his pen names were Jeonggok (靜谷), Byeolho Jeongyongjae (靜容齋), and Jeongyong (靜容), and his posthumous name was Jeongheon (靖憲). He was listed among the Wisa Original Merit Subjects (衛社原從功臣) and took part in compiling the Veritable Records of King Jungjong and the Veritable Records of King Injong.
He passed the lower civil service examination in 1507 (2nd year of Jungjong), passed the palace examination in 1513, and that same year placed second rank in the regular civil service examination. He then held key posts in the Three Offices, including Chief Censor, Compiler, Lecturer, and Junior Secretary. In particular, while serving as Chief Censor of the Office of the Inspector-General and Vice Director of the Office of Special Advisers, he repeatedly exposed and denounced the misconduct of several senior ministers. In 1520 (15th year of Jungjong), as Magistrate of the Office of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs (宗簿寺正), he pointed out in detail the corruption and misconduct of members of the royal kin. In 1527 he rose to Director of Special Advisers (直提學). In 1530 he became Chief Censor (執義) and clashed with Minister of Personnel Jang Sun-son (張順孫), and as a result was demoted to Magistrate of the Office of Supply (司贍寺正). He later returned to office and proposed reforms to correct the abuses of Kim An-ro (金安老), and was dismissed for doing so. In 1537, after Kim An-ro was driven out, he was appointed Ministry of War Assistant Minister. Later, when Yun Won-hyeong and others proposed allowing sons of secondary wives and illegitimate sons to advance, he opposed the proposal on the grounds of Joseon's circumstances.
In 1539 he went to the Ming dynasty as envoy for the Winter Solstice Embassy (冬至使). After returning home he served as Ministry of Rites Vice Minister and became Governor of Gyeongsang Province. While governor of Gyeongsang he resigned on grounds of ill health, and later, after serving as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he became Governor of Jeolla Province and rose to Left Councilor. He became Minister of War and Minister of Rites. In 1546 he was ranked third among the Wisa Original Merit Subjects and promoted to Jeongheon (正憲). He concurrently served as Director of the Office of Royal History and later became Right Councilor, then Left Councilor, and then again Right Councilor. His final office during his lifetime was Jeongheon Daebu rank, but his tombstone records the rank of Jaheon Daebu. He disliked ostentation and rigid conservatism. He was the son of Sogan Gong Im Yu-gyeom (任由謙) and the younger brother of Jeongheon Gong Im Chu (任樞).
Biography
Early Life
He was a descendant of Im Ja-song, and the great-grandson of Im Hyo-don (任孝敦), Magistrate of Boeun and posthumously Vice Minister of Personnel. His grandfather was Im Han (任漢), Magistrate of Suan and posthumously Minister of Personnel, and his father was Sogan Gong Im Yu-gyeom (任由謙), Minister of Works and Jijungchubusa. His mother was of the Yean Yi clan, the daughter of Yi Shin (李愼), Chief Inspector of Cheongdan. Jeongheon Gong Im Chu (任樞) was his full elder brother. His uncle was Im Yu-son (任由遜), and he was the great-grandfather of the general Im Hyeon (任鉉, pen name Aetan), posthumously Chunggan Gong, who fought in the Imjin War.
His pen name was Jeonggok (靜谷), and he also used the pen names Byeolho Jeongyongjae (靜容齋) and Jeongyong (靜容). As a boy he studied at Bukhak (北學), one of the five Seoul Hanseong-bu schools, where, according to tradition, So Se-yang first met him. His elder brother Im Chu is also said to have studied at Bukhak for a time. So Se-yang, a disciple of Yong-jae Yi Haeng, had originally attended the Bukbu school before becoming Yi Haeng's pupil, and he maintained friendships with those he met there for the rest of his life.
In 1507 (2nd year of Jungjong) he passed the lower civil service examination and became a Jinsa. In 1513 (8th year of Jungjong) he passed the palace examination, and that year he finally passed the regular civil service examination in the second rank. He was immediately appointed Training Bureau Probationary Official (訓鍊院權知), and was then assigned to the Seungmun Office (承文院).
Service in the Three Offices
Afterward he was appointed Probationary Assistant Clerk of the Seungmun Office, and then served as Examiner of the Office of Special Advisers (藝文館檢閱), Clerk of the Seungmun Office, Compiler, and Junior Secretary of the Ministry of War (兵曹正郞). He later served as Assistant Compiler and Compiler of the Office of Special Advisers, Remonstrator of the Office of Remonstrance (司諫院正言), Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, and Junior Secretary of the Ministry of War. He then served as Junior Magistrate of the Office of the Inspector-General and as Assistant Tutor of the Crown Prince's Tutorial Office (世子侍講院輔德). While serving as Chief Censor of the Office of the Inspector-General and Vice Director of the Office of Special Advisers, he refuted the misconduct of several senior ministers.
In 1514 (9th year of Jungjong) he returned to the historiography office as Recording Official, and that July he was transferred to Junior Compiler of the Office of Special Advisers while concurrently serving as Lecturer of the Royal Lecture. On October 20 of that year he became Compiler of the Office of Special Advisers. In January 1515 he again became Junior Compiler, and in April of that year he became Compiler once more while concurrently serving as Expositor of the Royal Lecture. In 1515 Shin Yong-gae and Park Yeol (朴說) proposed revising the rule under which the offspring of a marriage between a male or female slave and a free commoner were taken by the slave owner, and the rule under which the sons and daughters of their own secondary wives were freed from servitude. He supported the opinion of Yu Sun, who opposed the revision, arguing that it was not necessary.
In the 3rd month of 1515 (10th year of Jungjong), after Queen Janggyeong Yun died and the Hungu ministers designated Consort Gyeongbin Park as the next queen, Kim Jeong and Park Sang submitted a memorial calling for the restoration of Queen Dangyeong Shin. The Hungu ministers condemned Kim Jeong and Park Sang, and Yi Haeng and others also denounced them. He, together with Im Chu and Kim Gu (金絿), submitted a joint memorial, the Gubak Sang Kim Jeong Chat (救朴祥金淨箚), arguing that the punishment of Kim Jeong and Park Sang, who had spoken their minds in the interest of open discourse, was unjust. He later served as Sagyeong (司經). In 1516 (11th year of Jungjong) he became Sagyeong of the Royal Lecture, and in the autumn of that year he became Remonstrator of the Office of Remonstrance and asked to resign, but Jungjong did not grant the request. In 1517 (12th year of Jungjong) he served as Junior Compiler of the Office of Special Advisers and Examiner of the Royal Lecture. In January 1518 he became Remonstrator of the Office of Remonstrance and Assistant Junior Compiler; in February he became Vice Compiler of the Office of Special Advisers; in May he became Compiler of the Office of Special Advisers concurrently Junior Magistrate of the Office of the Inspector-General, and then Junior Magistrate of the Office of the Inspector-General. He then became Junior Secretary of the Ministry of War. That year, when Jungjong attempted to revive the Sogyeokseo (昭格署), he submitted a memorial protesting the impropriety of its revival.
In 1519 (14th year of Jungjong), while serving as Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, he submitted a memorial urging the preparation of military resources against possible emergencies, but he was ignored by senior court officials. In it he requested, among more than ten articles, that the governors of each province be ordered to investigate the true condition of military grain; that weapons in Hamgyeong Province, which were insufficient and long neglected, be investigated and replenished; that because many elite soldiers of the provincial forces were too poor to have military equipment, the relevant offices be ordered to supply military gear from the state; and that horses from the state pastures under the Jeonsaengseo (典牲署) be selected and sent to soldiers of Pyeongan and Hamgyeong provinces who had martial talent but were too poor to own horses. In 1519 (14th year of Jungjong) he was serving at the Office of Special Advisers when he was posted as Junior Magistrate of the Office of the Inspector-General. That same year, while serving as Junior Magistrate of the Office of the Inspector-General, he followed the public opinion of the Sarim faction led by Jo Gwang-jo and requested the revision of the Jeongguk merit subjects (靖國功臣) and the removal of the honors of falsely listed merit subjects. This drew the displeasure of the Hungu ministers, and that same year, during the Gimyo Purge, he was demoted from Investigating Censor to Expositor of the Seungmun Office, but he escaped severe punishment because of his family standing.
After the Gimyo Purge
In 1521 (16th year of Jungjong) he resigned on the death of his mother, Lady Yean Yi, and after completing the three years of mourning he returned to service after 1524. He then served as Junior Magistrate of the Office of the Inspector-General, Expositor of the Crown Prince's Tutorial Office, Junior Secretary of the State Council, Sangeom of the State Council, Secretary of the State Council and Assistant Tutor of the Crown Prince's Tutorial Office, and Chief Censor of the Office of the Inspector-General.
In 1526 (21st year of Jungjong) he was again appointed Secretary of the State Council, was soon promoted to Chief Censor of the Office of the Inspector-General, and was transferred to Vice Director of the Office of Special Advisers. At the Royal Lecture he discussed one by one the greed of the ministers of the time, and when the king asked for their names, he did not conceal them but named them directly. He was feared both inside and outside the court. In 1527 he rose to Director of Special Advisers (直提學), and in April of that year, upon the death of his father Im Yu-gyeom, he resigned and completed the three years of mourning. After completing the mourning period he returned to office, and in 1530, after serving as Secretary, he was Magistrate of the Office of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, where he thoroughly inspected and pointed out the misdeeds of members of the royal kin.
That year he was transferred to Chief Censor (執義) of the Office of the Inspector-General, and in 1530 (25th year of Jungjong) he clashed with Minister of Personnel Jang Sun-son, and when he criticized corrupt senior ministers, he indirectly pointed at Jang Sun-son and others. Because of this he incurred Jang's enmity and was demoted to Magistrate of the Office of Supply (司贍寺正). He later served as Magistrate of the Office of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, Magistrate of the Office of Supply, and Assistant Tutor of the Crown Prince's Tutorial Office, and when he again became Chief Censor of the Office of the Inspector-General, Kim An-ro (金安老), a royal maternal relative, wielded power on the pretext of protecting the crown prince. He and his elder brother Im Chu together refuted Kim An-ro's monopoly of power and misrule, but on the impeachment by Sim Eon-gwang (沈彦光), Grand Remonstrator of the Office of Remonstrance, he was impeached on false charges and dismissed from office, and he retired to Yesan (禮山) in Chungcheong Province. Yi Haeng, who had attacked Kim An-ro together with him, was exiled. After going to Yesan, he is said to have farmed with his own hands.
In 1537 (32nd year of Jungjong), when Kim An-ro fell from power and his followers Heo Hang (許沆) and Chae Mu-taek (蔡無擇) were removed, he was restored to office, became Vice Magistrate of the Bongsangsi (奉常寺副正), passed through the post of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, and was then employed as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. He again became Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, and in 1539 he went to the Ming dynasty as Winter Solstice Embassy envoy, together with Gwon Beol (權橃) and others sent to request, and requested the correction, in the Ming encyclopedia Daemyeonghoetong, of the entry on the Joseon lineage (宗系), which had recorded Yi Seong-gye as the son of Yi In-im.
Later Life
After returning from the Ming in 1539 (34th year of Jungjong), he served as Ministry of Rites Vice Minister in 1540 and was appointed to and took up the post of Gyeongsang Province Governor. While serving as Governor of Gyeongsang he resigned on grounds of illness, and afterward, through the post of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he served as Governor of Jeolla Province and Dongji Jungchubusa, among other posts. In 1542 (37th year of Jungjong) he became Minister of War and then Jisa of the Jungchubu, and in 1544 he was appointed Minister of Rites. In 1544, as Minister of Rites, he concurrently served as Director of the Uigeumbu. At that time Jungjong died, and he served as Supervisor (提調) of the Royal Funeral Office and as Chanrye (贊禮), managing the state funeral rites for Jungjong. Meanwhile, when Yun Won-hyeong and others proposed allowing sons of secondary wives and illegitimate sons to advance and allowing sons of secondary wives to take the civil service examinations, Im Gwon strongly opposed it and also refuted it on the grounds of Joseon's circumstances.
On May 15, 1545 (2nd year of Injong), he was transferred to Jeonggang Jungchubusa (行動知中樞府事). At that time he was dismissed on the slander and accusations of Kwak Sun (郭珣) and others, but the censorate continued to attack him. He was restored to office immediately after King Myeongjong ascended the throne in 1545. In August 1545 (accession year of Myeongjong) he became Minister of Works and concurrently served as Gyeongyeon Teukjin Gwan, and on September 3 that year he became Left Councilor of the State Council, and on September 9 he was reassigned as Right Councilor. In 1546 (1st year of Myeongjong) he was ranked third among the Wisa Original Merit Subjects, was promoted to Jeongheon (正憲), and concurrently served as Chief Director of the Office of Royal History (春秋館知事), taking part midway in compiling both the Veritable Records of King Jungjong and the Veritable Records of King Injong. He then rose to Right Councilor of the State Council, later served as Left Councilor and again as Right Councilor, and in 1548 (3rd year of Myeongjong) he concurrently held the posts of Vice Director of the Royal Lecture (同知經筵事) and Chief Commander of the Office of the Five Military Commands (都總管). In January 1549 (4th year of Myeongjong) he again became Left Councilor and concurrently served as Director of the Royal Lecture.
While he was ill, when the revival of Buddhism began on the orders of Queen Munjeong and others, he submitted a memorial and strongly opposed it. In 1551 (6th year of Myeongjong), when the two Buddhist orders (兩宗) and the civil examination for selecting monks, the Seongwa (禪科), were reestablished and resumed, he actively called for the abolition of these heterodox institutions. In April 1551 he proposed that sacrifices be offered at Sungeuijeon to King Taejo Wang Geon of Goryeo, on the grounds that he had contributed to the unification of the Three Han, and this proposal was carried out. Afterward, as Left Councilor, he took part in the Royal Lecture and the Border Defense Council and deliberated on state affairs. However, when Yun Won-hyeong held power, many officials bowed to Yun, but he did not readily follow Yun's words.
He disliked ostentation and rigid conservatism. His written works include the Jeongyongjae Munjip (靜容齋文集), and his descendant Im Hyeong-jun (任炯準) collected and published some of his 39 poems, his prose, and his memorials. On June 17, 1557 (12th year of Myeongjong), he died while serving as Left Councilor. The Veritable Records praised him, saying: "Im Gwon was an upright man. Because his words were upright, some people may have avoided him, but it is regrettable that a veteran minister who served three courts has died suddenly." The Veritable Records also left the assessment that, although he had the fault of stubbornly insisting on his own way, such a man was hard to find. It is also said of him that he was firm and upright by nature, did not originally care for music or women, was strict with his children, and was sincere in performing ancestral rites.
After Death
His remains were interred on August 22, 1557 (12th year of Myeongjong), on the left hill across from the ancestral graves at Yuljeong-ri in Hoeam-myeon, north of the seat of Yangju County in Gyeonggi Province (later Yuljeong-ri, Hoecheon-eup, Yangju County). The epitaph was written by his friend So Se-yang (陽谷 蘇世讓), a friend of his, and later it was included in the Gukjo Inmul Go. Later, in 1939, his descendant Im Hyeong-jun (任炯準) compiled and published his collected works, the Jeongyongjae Jip. His grave was later re-designated from 240-4 Yuljeong-dong, Yangju City, Gyeonggi Province, to San 2-62, Uljeong-dong, Yangju City, Gyeonggi Province.
When the Wisa merit subjects were abolished, his rank was lowered from Jeongheon Daebu back to Jaheon Daebu, and on the front of his tombstone, although his final office was Left Councilor of the State Council, his rank was engraved not as Jeongheon Daebu, his final rank, but as the Jaheon Daebu rank, so that he was recorded as Jaheon Daebu, Left Councilor of the State Council. His wife, Lady Yeongsan Sin, was buried in a double tomb beside his grave on the right side. The posthumous name Jeongheon was conferred immediately. A tombstone and a spirit stele stand together; apart from the tombstone, the spirit stele stands directly to the left of his grave.
His grave was built on the hill to the left of the fork in the path past the entrance to the graves of his father Im Yu-gyeom and his elder brother Im Chu and their wives. Later, beneath his grave, the graves of his son Im Jung-sin, his grandson Im Jin, his great-grandson Im Gyeong-sul, and his fourth-generation descendant Im Seo, along with those of other descendants, were successively built on the hill directly beside his grave, forming a separate ancestral site for the Jeongheon Gong branch. On March 30, 2009, the graves of the descendants that had been on the nearby mountain at Uljeong-dong, San 32-1, and Mojeong-dong, San 22-1, were relocated, due to the new town development in the vicinity, to the hill directly across from Im Gwon's grave and were successively moved and built there. In addition, at Uljeong-dong, San 2-16, is the grave of his other younger brother Im Byeong (任柄). Also near his grave is the temple site of Yangju Hoeamsa.
He was also included in the Gimyo Myeonghyeonrok, which records those who suffered during the Gimyo Purge.
Works
- Jeongyongjae Munjip (靜容齋文集)
Family
- Grandfather: Im Han (任漢)
- Grandmother: Lady Namyang Hong, daughter of Nam Shim (南深)
- Father: Im Yu-gyeom (任由謙, 1456 – 1527)
- Mother: Lady Yean Yi (禮安李氏, ? – 1522), daughter of Yi Shin (李愼)
- Elder brother: Im Chu (任樞, 1482 – 1534)
- Younger brother: Im Byeong (任柄)
- Younger brother: Im Geon (任楗)
- Younger brother: Im Gan (任幹, 1496 – 1547)
- Elder sister: Pungcheon Im clan, wife of Yun Su-ui (尹壽義), Magistrate of Dongbok
- Elder sister: Pungcheon Im clan, wife of Inspector Yun Jeong-sin (尹貞臣) of the Office of the Inspector-General
- Wife: Lady Yeongsan Sin (靈山辛氏), daughter of Jinsa Sin Je-dam (辛悌聃), granddaughter of Sin In-son (辛引孫), Grand Academician of the Sumun Hall (修文殿大提學)
- Son: Im Jung-sin (任重臣, March 24, 1517 – August 28, 1580)
- Daughter-in-law: Jeonju Yi clan, daughter of Yi Ho (李儫), Pyeongreungjeong, first wife of Im Jung-sin, no heirs
- Daughter-in-law: Yi clan, daughter of Yi Ong (李壅), Magistrate, second wife of Im Jung-sin
- Grandson: Im Jeung (任拯)
- Grandson: Im Jin (任振)
- Granddaughter: Pungcheon Im clan
- Granddaughter's husband: Sin Heub (申洽)
- Concubine daughter-in-law: name unknown, concubine of his son Im Jung-sin
- Secondary grandson: Im Yong (任龍)
- Secondary granddaughter: Pungcheon Im clan, concubine of Haedong-gun (河東君)
- Secondary granddaughter's husband: Haedong-gun (河東君)
- Daughter: Pungcheon Im clan
- Son-in-law: Yi Gam (李戡)
- Maternal grandson: Yi Seong-heon (李成憲)
- Maternal granddaughter: Yi clan