갑오개혁 전후 관제 변화와 主事職

Abstract

This paper examined the characteristics of the jusa(主事), which was a government post that existed from the late 1880s to 1907. In the 1880s, the Joseon government began to establish new government offices for its reform policy, which led to the introduction of a new administrative post called jusa in each office. jusa, during this period, was a post similar to the nangcheong(郎廳) in the Joseon dynasty. The nangcheong was a post for experienced government officials who were appointed for specific tasks. At first, jusa was similarly a post for existing officials, and the characteristics of the position were similar to the traits of the nangcheong from the Joseon dynasty. For instance, the ranks of the officials(品階) appointed as jusa all differed. Furthermore, each government office could independently appoint its jusa and the number of jusa posts frequently changed by task, which all were the characteristics of nangcheong. The nangcheong and jusa, however, had one critical difference in the appointed personnel. While the nangcheong post was only for existing officials, the scope of candidates for the jusa post expanded to the saengwon(生員), jinsa(進士), and yoohak(幼學). Through this change, many people who were not government officials were appointed as jusa. Most of the newly appointed jusa received modern education. The Joseon government expanded the appointees of the jusa post, which was the nangcheong of new government offices, to include civilians, which made it easier for the people who received modern education to be employed by the government. This was a sound decision, considering that the governmental organization and the civil service examination(科擧) remained unchanged. This method, however, did not lead to any institutional change or to the establishment of new standards. This was because most of the people who were appointed as jusa, after 1887 when the reform policy backtracked, were existing officials. From this period, the jusa was no longer a government post for people who received modern education and only retained the characteristic of nangcheong, of appointing existing government officials to the post. After the Reform of 1894(甲午改革), the organization of the Foreign Office, the Tongni-Gyoseop-Tongsang-Sam-Amun(統理交涉通商事務衙門), was expanded to consist of 8amun(8衙門) and 7bu(7部) and the jusa was thus placed as an administrative post in every office. The 7bu was divided into guk(局) by tasks and the jusa was assigned to each guk, which was similar to how the six ministries(六曹) were divided into departments and how the gyeongajeon(京衙前) was placed in each department. This situation, in which a great number of jusa were placed in the government after the Reform of 1894, indicated that even the roles of the gyeongajeon became the tasks of regular government officials. This was evident in the fact that the status of the jusa was weakened and limited to the role of the panimkwan(判任官) or that the classification of jusa and gowon(雇員) was unclear. As a result, the jusa, which originated from the nangcheon from the Joseon dynasty, became a permanent government post in charge of the basics dealings of the government offices after the Reform of 1894. As the desired candidates for government posts changed through the Reform of 1894, the candidates for the jusa position changed accordingly. The ideal candidates for government posts during this era were people who received school education. Graduates of schools were chosen over the other candidates and there were additional points for candidates who completed the school curricula. However, in reality, it was the government officials who were reappointed. In such circumstances, the range of candidates for the jusa position expanded, not only to include regular government officials but also to encompass the kyungajeon. Moreover, because the minister of each ministry(大臣) had the appointing power, it was possible for the recruited jusa to be an acquaintance. Examples of such circumstances could be found in cases of appointing the jusa posts. Takji-Amun(度支衙門), the Ministry of Finance, was made up of all the finance-related government offices which existed during the Joseon dynasty, including the Hojo(戶曹). The people who were appointed as the jusa of the Takji-Amun were not only government officials but also accountants who were formerly affiliated with the Hojo and the gyeongajeon, which showed that the jusa served as a position which embraced the officials with different status after the Reform of 1894. In conclusion, the jusa, which existed from 1880 to 1907, became a completely different government post after the Reform of 1894. Before the Reform, the jusa was a government position with the task of implementing the reform policy and which incorporated the people who were equipped with modern education. After the Reform of 1894, the jusa was placed in each department as an administrative post, with the intention to dispose of the different status of personnel that prevailed in the government departments during the Joseon dynasty.

본 논문은 1880년부터 1907년까지 존속했던 관직인 主事의 성격과 특징을 살펴보았다. 조선의 관제가 유지되는 갑오개혁 이전 主事는 낭청의 성격을 지닌 임시 관직이었다. 갑오개혁 이후에는 主事는 모든 관부의 실무 관직이 되면서 기존 구성원을 일률적으로 재편하는 성격을 지닌 관직으로 변화했다. 1880년대 개화 정책을 담당할 신설 관청이 설치되었고, 각 관청의 실무 관직으로 主事가 등장했다. 이 당시 主事는 조선시대 낭청에서 비롯되었는데, 낭청은 특정 업무를 수행하기 위해 기존 관원을 임시로 차출한 관직이었다. 그러므로 이 시기 主事의 특징은 조선시대 낭청에게서 확인되는 특징과 유사했다. 조선시대 낭청과 같이 主事로 임명된 사람의 품계는 다양했다. 각 관청은 낭청을 차출하는 방식과 마찬가지로 主事를 선발할 수 있었으며, 主事의 정원도 정해져 있지 않았다. 그렇지만 낭청과 主事는 임명 대상에서 중요한 차이가 있었다. 낭청이 기존 관원만을 임명 대상으로 삼았다면, 主事의 임명 대상은 관원이 아니었던 사람들에게로 확대되었다. 이들은 대부분 직·간접적인 경로를 통해 신학문을 익혔는데, 외국 유학생이거나 동문학·육영공원 같은 신식 학교에서 공부한 이력이 있었다. 조선 정부는 主事의 임명 대상을 관원 이외에 사람에까지 확대함으로써 신학문을 익힌 사람들을 수월하게 관원로 수용할 수 있었다. 이는 조선의 관제와 科擧가 유지되는 상황에서 할 수 있는 합리적인 방법이었다. 다만 이러한 방식이 본질적인 제도 변화나 새로운 관원 선발 기준을 마련한 것은 아니었다. 그러므로 개화 정책이 퇴조를 보이는 1887년 이후, 主事는 기존의 낭청으로 회귀하는 모습을 보인다. 갑오개혁 이후 통리교섭통상사무아문의 관제가 8아문 관제로 확대됨에 따라 主事가 모든 관부의 실무 관직으로 배치되었다. 관제 변화의 결과, 조선 시대 다양하게 나뉘어 있던 실무 관직은 主事라는 하나의 관직으로 재편되었다. 또한, 조선시대 경아전을 계승한 雇員과 정규 관직인 主事의 위상이 크게 다르지 않았는데, 이는 主事가 일부 경아전까지 포섭할 수 있는 것을 의미했다. 실제로 경아전 중 일부를 主事로 선발하도록 한 규정도 마련되었다. 위와 같은 사정은 主事의 임명 사례를 통해서도 확인할 수 있었다. 탁지아문은 호조를 비롯한 조선시대 재정 관련 관청들이 모두 편입되었다. 갑오개혁 직후 탁지아문의 主事로 임명되었던 사람은 호조와 속아문의 참하관뿐 아니라 호조에서 근무했던 計士와 書吏들까지 포함되어 있었다. 갑오개혁 이전에는 主事라는 관직을 통해 신진 관원을 수용하려는 목적을 이루고자 했다면, 갑오개혁 이후 主事는 기존 구성원을 일률적으로 재편했던 것이다.