Gyeyu Coup
Grand Prince Suyang killed Kim Jong-seo and Hwangbo In and took control; two years later he took the throne from his nephew Danjong.
문화재청 (공공누리 제1유형) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Munjong died after barely two years on the throne, leaving the twelve-year-old Danjong. Ministers of the State Council such as Kim Jong-seo and Hwangbo In, charged by Munjong’s last wishes, ran the government; even appointments were made by the king simply approving names the ministers had marked in yellow (hwangpyo jeongsa). As royal authority weakened, Sejong’s second son, Grand Prince Suyang, grew resentful.
In the tenth month of 1453 Suyang, with Han Myeong-hoe and Gwon Ram, went to Kim Jong-seo’s house and struck him down with an iron mace. Then, claiming a royal order, he summoned Hwangbo In and other ministers to the palace and had them killed; his brother Grand Prince Anpyeong was exiled and later put to death. Yi Jing-ok rose in revolt in Hamgil Province but was crushed.
Suyang held both the chief state councillorship and military command, and in 1455 took the throne from Danjong as King Sejo. He replaced the State Council’s deliberation with direct royal control of the Six Ministries to strengthen the crown. The plot of the Six Martyred Ministers to restore Danjong followed.
