Lee Wan-yong was a former prime minister of Korea who is infamous for being the leading "traitor of Eulsa" who signed the so called Treaty of Eulsa, delivering the "Korean Empire" over to Japanese control as a protectorate in 1905.
Lee Won Yong (left) and Ito Hirobumi. prime minister and Japanese resident general of the Korean protectorate respectively, circa 1907. Ito was assassinated in Harbin in 1909, by a Korean independence fighter, Ahn Jung-geun, a national hero to this day. Lee was the victim of an attempted assassination by stabbing months later on December 22, 1909 in Seoul by Lee Jae-myung. Lee Wan Yong was known at the traitor of Eulsa.
This is a picture below of the freedom fighter Lee Jae-myung or Yi Jae Myung, the namesake of the current President of South Korea. The current president's birth date was registered by his father as December 22, 1964.
1909년 12월 22일, 종현 천주교당(現 명동성당) 앞에서 군밤장수로 변장한 이재명 의사는 이완용을 습격해 중상을 입히고 당당히 만세를 외쳤습니다.
— 국가보훈부 (@hun2day) December 22, 2025
오늘 12월 22일은 이재명 의사 의거 116주년입니다.
의사의 확고한 신념과 독립의지를 깊이 기억하겠습니다.
자세히보기 https://t.co/NMRUmXjH0e pic.twitter.com/zoPhl9JFVe
The first Lee Jae-myung, the Korean independence movement doctor/attempted assassin of Lee Wan Yong, attacked with a knife.
In 1909, he was seriously injured in an assassination attempt by the "Five Eulsa Traitors Assassination Group". The incident happened on 22 December 1909, when he and other targeted officials were attending a memorial service in Jong-hyeon Catholic Church (present-day Myeongdong Cathedral) for the recently deceased King Leopold II of Belgium. The assassin, Lee Jae-myeong (이재명; 李在明, 1887–1910) caught wind and disguised himself as a chestnut vendor outside the church. At around 11:30 a.m., Yi Wanyong appeared and was heading towards his rickshaw when Lee Jae-myeong sprung into action, stabbing him three times with a knife while shouting 'Long Live the Independence of Korea'. The assassin was quickly subdued by Japanese police and was arrested with serious injuries; he would be sentenced to death.[6]
In a twisted turn of fate, an attempted assassination by stabbing was made on then opposition democratic party leader Lee Jae-myung in January 2024, by a Mr. Kim, believed to be a Sincheonji (New Heaven and Earth) cult follower.
On 2 January 2024, Lee was stabbed in the left side of his neck while holding a question and answer session with reporters after touring the construction site of a planned new airport located on Gadeokdo in Busan.[49][50][51] Though Lee remained conscious, he continued bleeding and was transferred to a hospital approximately 20 minutes later.[49] The assailant, who was wearing a "I'm Lee Jae Myung" paper crown,[52][51] lunged at Lee after asking for his autograph.[53][49][51] The assailant was arrested at the scene.[49][51] The assailant was identified as a man named Kim Jin-sung and was reported to have been born in 1957.[54][49]
Though the neck wound was not considered to be life-threatening, Lee's surgery took longer than expected, with damage being inflicted on his jugular vein that led to additional bleeding.[54][53] The laceration in his neck which resulted from the knife wound was determined to be approximately 1 centimetre.[54] While in custody, the assailant confessed to Busan Metropolitan Police that he carried out the attack with the intention of killing Lee.[54]
So Doctor Lee Jae-myung the independence hero who attempted the assassination of the most famous "traitor of Eulsa" is commemorated on the same day as President Lee Jae-myung's birthday.
