Yun Ung-nyeol

Yun Ung-ryeol (18 May 1840 – 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. His art name was Bangye.

Biography
Yun Ung-nyeol was a member of one of the prominent yangban families of Korea, the Haepyeong Yun clan. His family was considered wealthy, 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.

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.

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.

In 1904, Yun Ung-nyeol was appointed as the Korea's Minister of War. On 30 September 1904, Yun was appointed as the Chief of Staff of Korean Empire but he resigned on 30 January 1905 making him the last incumbent. 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).