User:Dckewon5131/이성근 (1887년)

Lee Seong-geun (born November 1887) was a police officer during the Japanese occupation. In his later years, he also worked as a journalist.

Life
He started his career as an observer in Hwanghae-do, and in 1910, he was recognized for his ability to suppress righteous army activities while working at the Gyeongbu of Chungcheongbuk-do and the Police Bureau of the Governor-General of Joseon. In 1920, he was promoted to a police officer.

He served as the chief of the police high official in Pyeonganbuk-do, a position to suppress the independence movement that was active in the border area. Kim Deok-ki, a famous pro-Japanese police officer, is known to have arrested and killed a number of independence activists, including Oh Dong-jin, by threatening or conciliating those caught during the independence movement and using them as informants.

In recognition of his contribution to the police, he was appointed to the high-ranking positions of the head of the Jeollanam-do Industrial Division, the head of the Hamgyeongbuk-do Industrial Division, and the governor of Chungcheongnam-do. It is included as one of the 353 Korean contributors in the "Joseon Meritorious Self-Confession" compiled by the Governor-General in 1935.

In 1941, at the end of the Japanese colonial period, he was inaugurated as the president of Maeil Sinbo, the organ of the Japanese Government-General of Korea, and served for four years and two months until liberation. Maeil Shinbo is a representative pro-Japanese media that actively cooperated with Japan through lectures on encouraging intellectuals to participate in the war, lectures on the situation, and editorials during this period.

He also actively participated in pro-Japanese groups. He attended a speech and discussion session to support the war hosted by the National Federation of Korean Residents, and gave pro-Japanese speeches such as that the Korean Peninsula should play a role as a military base for the victory of the temple. He even moved to Tokyo to speak to international students to encourage them to participate as a student soldier, and served as a preparatory member of the Joseon Imjeonbo Corps in 1941, a director of the Dialogue Alliance in February 1945, and an advisor to the Joseon branch of the Japan Heung-A Association in July 1945.

After liberation from Japanese colonial rule, he was arrested on January 18, 1948 under the Anti-National Act. Park Heung-sik, Lee Jong-hyung, Choi Rin, Lee Seung-woo, and Lee Poong-han were arrested as "big pro-Japanese groups" Lee Sung-geun was tried in an anti-civil court, but was released during the forced dissolution of the anti-civil special committee. He was abducted from Seoul during the Korean War, and his whereabouts are unknown.

After death
It was included in the list of 708 pro-Japanese groups announced in 2002 and the list of prospective candidates for the pro-Japanese dictionary of the Institute for National Affairs released in 2008. Lee Sung-geun's name was listed in various fields, revealing various pro-Japanese experiences. It was also included in the list of 705 pro-Japanese anti-ethnic acts announced by the Committee on the Truth and Reconciliation of Anti-ethnic Acts in 2009.

See more

 * A dialogue alliance

Reference

 * Ko Won-seop's Imperialization of Japan, loyal dog of the Japanese Empire "The Anti-People's Crime" (1949), a group of Japanese writers who performed the "Smile" of "Ko Won-seop" (1949)
 * Ko Won-seop's Imperialization of Japan, loyal dog of the Japanese Empire "The Anti-People's Crime" (1949), a group of Japanese writers who performed the "Smile" of "Ko Won-seop" (1949)