Justice at the British Legation in 1898: Constable James Stewart O'Neil: Part 2

There were many English travelers to Korea in the late 19th century. Most of them were well-mannered and were able to travel throughout the peninsula as this man did in the 1880s. Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

• Published Apr 10, 2023 1:26 PM KST
• Updated Apr 11, 2023 9:50 AM KST

By Robert Neff

On July 7, 1898, James Stewart O'Neil, the constable at the English legation Seoul, went on trial for the death of Lee Gyeong-pil ― a Korean employee of the same legation. It was alleged that O'Neil became infuriated with Lee's lackadaisical performance of his duties and beat the young man so severely that he died a few days later. O'Neil denied ever striking the man and, after a trial lasting some 11 hours, a jury of his English peers found him innocent.

While the foreign community was happy with the verdict, another English man (with an impossibly long name), Alfred Frederick Augustus William Busby, reignited the fire when he let his temper get the best of him.

On July 8, at about 6:30 p.m., a violent incident took place at Gorshalki Store in the Jeong-dong area of Seoul. This store catered to the foreign community and enjoyed a degree of fame for its Western goods and its freshly baked bread. Ko Jei-yong, who apparently was well-known in the area, was in the store when he encountered Busby.

It isn't known why, but the two men began to argue and Busby ― who had probably been drinking ― suddenly attacked the Korean man. Eventually, Ko was able to get away and made his way to the British legation in a palanquin. I think it is safe to assume that the charge d'affaires, John Jordan, was less than pleased to have another Korean on his office steps “bearing the marks of severe injuries and bruises.” The injured man identified his assailant as Busby, an employee of the Seoul-Chemulpo Railroad, and demanded justice be done. Once again a consular court was convened.

On July 9, Jordan (supported by H. P. Wilkinson) presided over the trial. It was a relatively quick affair. Busby testified that he had indeed assaulted Ko (unfortunately none of the records indicate why he attacked the man) and “had committed a series of similar acts of grave misconduct.” Because he was honest, and probably a little remorseful, he was sentenced “to three months imprisonment with hard labor.”

The sentence may have appeased the bruised feeling of the general public and alleviated some of Ko's pain (as well as a small sum of money) but for Jordan, it presented another problem ― how he might enforce the prison sentence “in the absence of a jail in Korea.” Jordan concluded that if he kept Busby in Korea it would be a “serious miscarriage of justice” as the facilities in Korea would either endanger his life or facilitate his escape.” Even more importantly, it was imperative to remove him from Korea “where his presence would constitute an element of danger to all foreigners.”

Word was soon received from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court that Busby would be sent to Shanghai to serve out his sentence in one of the prisons there or in Hong Kong. On July 12, The Independent (English) reported Wilkinson had left Korea. He was accompanied by Constable O'Neil who was escorting Busby whose “career in Korea ends with 'three months hard labor.'”

Busby was no stranger to the authorities in Shanghai. A perusal of the local newspaper reveals that he had a tendency to get into mischief after having a little too much to drink but up until this point he never spent any extended time behind bars.

O'Neil must have found it somewhat amusing that he was escorting a prisoner to jail for a crime that he had just the previous day been accused of but acquitted by a jury of his peers. But not everyone, including his employer, was convinced of his innocence.

Jordan knew much more about O'Neil's character and his past than he apparently disclosed at the trial. In a letter to his own superior, Jordan described the circumstances of how O'Neil came to Korea.

In late 1897, the legation's former constable gave notice that he would soon return to England and so Jordan immediately began to look for a replacement. He consulted with the naval authorities in the hope of securing “the services of a member of the guard of marines attached to the legation [in Seoul] who had expressed his willingness to accept the post, but the admiral was unable to accede the application.” He then tried to “engage a time-expired marine” from a British warship but was again unsuccessful.

With no other choice, he had “to risk the chance of finding a suitable man at Shanghai or one of the other Treaty Ports.” Through the aid of a couple of junior diplomats, he found O'Neil ― a former marine, jailer and member of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs (CIMC).

“O'Neil entered upon his duties here [at the legation in Seoul] on the 1st of February [1898] and gave every promise of being a most zealous, capable and conscientious officer. But very shortly after his arrival friction between him and the native servants in the legation appeared. This I attributed partly to his ignorance of the language and partly to his exercising a stricter degree of discipline than had prevailed in the time of his predecessor. He himself, too, was suffering from chronic dysentery which appeared to explain a restless impatience in his manner.

His impatience only grew. After a month, two of the Korean office employees quit coming to work after they allegedly “had received ill-usage at the hands of O'Neil.” Jordan confronted his constable with the allegations but the man denied ever mistreating the staff. Unconvinced, Jordan instructed him not to have any more interaction with the office staff and confine himself to the administration of the Koreans employed outside.

“There continued to be occasional signs of friction between him [O'Neil] and the coolies and he complained to me of the indolence and carelessness of the men. I [Jordan] pointed out to him that he could not expect much so long as the coolies continued to be inadequately paid and warned him of the necessity of getting on smoothly with the native staff.”

In his note, Jordan was careful to point out that neither he nor any of the other Western staff had ever witnessed “O'Neil assaulting or in any way maltreating the servants.” However, since the assault on and subsequent death of Lee Gyeong-pil, Jordan “learned accidentally that O'Neil's record in China was by no means so good as his testimonials would imply.”

While serving with the ICMC, a man named James Stewart O'Neil “was accused of an almost precisely similar instance of grave misconduct.” At the time there was no proof he committed the act so he was suspended from duty for a couple of months but “it was subsequently discovered that there was little doubt of his guilt.”

In all fairness to O'Neil, it must be pointed out that when his name was mentioned during an investigation of smuggling (explosives and weapons) in China in 1891, he indicated that he had nothing to do with it and suggested that there was “another O'Neil” working with the ICMC.

Apparently, Jordan never shared these facts with the general foreign community in Seoul and, despite finding O'Neil “not satisfactory” for the position “was unable to dismiss him after his trial” because there was no one to immediately replace him. In addition, O'Neil had “incurred some obligations during his stay [in Korea] which rendered it expedient” to temporarily retain him.

Jordan found himself in a dilemma. With “the influx of disreputable British subjects in connection with railway and mining projects [in Korea] … the presence of a constable was indispensable.” But all he could offer in the way of salary was $60 a month which wasn't much when the cost of living in Korea was considered. Adding to his difficulty was the ICMC's recent pay increase which “attracted to that service the class of men who would be willing to accept” a job as a constable in Seoul.

Eventually, Jordan did find a replacement and O'Neil was released from his position. O'Neil took it in good stride and quickly found a new position in Jemulpo with the Korean government as an employee of the Korean Customs Service.

Consular courts would continue to play an active role in the protection of foreigners and Koreans alike, and also as entertainment for the local newspapers. In November of the same year (1898), the Americans would hold their first consular court for a murder involving two of its citizen (the victim and the perpetrator). As a result of this trial, a small two-cell jail was erected on the American legation grounds to house the convicted murderer until he could be returned to the United States where he was later retried and found innocent. Even Busby briefly reappeared ― as a witness in the murder trial.

Tragically, consular courts and justice in Korea in the late 19th century were often nothing more than a comedy of errors.

I would like to express my appreciation to Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.