Government-General of Korea
| Governor-General of Korea | |
 |
|
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Joseon Chongdok |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chosŏn Ch'ongdok |
|
Japanese name: Chōsen Sōtoku (?) |
|
The post of Governor-General of Korea served as the chief administrator of Korea while it was held as Chōsen from 1910 to 1945. The seat of the colonial government was the General Government Building, completed in 1926.
After the annexation of Korea to Japan in 1910, the office of Resident-General was replaced by that of Governor-General. However, the position was unique in among Japan's external possessions, as the Governor-General had sweeping plenipotentiary powers, and the position also entailed judicial oversight and some legislative powers. As of 1944, the Governor-General did not command the Imperial Japanese Army or Imperial Japanese Navy units stationed in Korea. Given the powers and levels of responsibility, only ranking full generals in the Japanese Army were selected for the post (with the sole exception of retired admiral Saitō Makoto).
After the Japanese defeat in World War II, the Korean Peninsula was administrated by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. The Governor-General building was completely demolished during administration of South Korean president Kim Yong-Sam on August 15, 1995.
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