Myeongjong of Goryeo

Myeongjong of Goryeo (8 November 1131 – 3 December 1202) (r. 1170–1197) was 19th monarch of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He was the third son of King Injong.

Although it was intended that Injong's second son should succeed his father,[1] he was assassinated because Jeong Jung-bu feared that he might become a threat to him in the future. Myeongjong was a weak king, and was merely on the throne to show the general populace they still had a king, as the true rulers were the military leaders. His reign saw constant bloodshed as well as the deaths of the rebels Chung Jung-bu, Yi Ui-bang, and Yi Ui-min (not related to Yi Ui-Bang) but also the hero, Gyeong Dae-seung (General Gyeong was in fact the most loyal of the military leaders. Yet Myeongjong hated and mistrusted him because of his popularity with the populace).

After twenty-seven years on the throne, he was sent into exile by the military ruler of the time, Choe Chung-heon, and Injong's fifth son, King Sinjong, was placed on the throne.