러일전쟁기 고종의 콜브란&보스트윅사에 대한 전기‧수도‧광업 이권 허가 - 계약 내용과 허가를 둘러싼 의혹을 중심으로 (“Concession issued under shadow of war” : The electricity, water, and mining concessions granted to Collbran & Bostwick Co. during the Russo-Japanese war - the contents of the contracts and suspicion )

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 호서사학회
· 수록지 정보 : 역사와 담론 / 107호 / 213 ~ 250페이지
· 저자명 : 김희연

초록

본고는 러일전쟁기 고종이 콜브란&보스트윅사에 허가한 전기, 수도, 광업 이권 계약과 이를 둘러싼 여러 의혹을 『알렌문서』를 중심으로 분석한다. 고종/한국은 한미 간 합자회사 설립을 규정한 전기, 광업계약에서 지분 절반을 가질 수 있었다. 계약은 종전 계약보다 수혜자에 유리했고, 미국회사가 ‘최혜사대우’를 받도록 했다. 그런데 허가하는 측과 허가받는 측 간 입장차가 극명했다. 고종은 이권허가를 통해 ‘이이제이’를 꾀한 반면 알렌은 전쟁 후 한국 위상 변화를 대비해 미국회사의 이익을 보장하는 데 초점을 뒀다. ‘주한미국공사’가 아닌 ‘한국에 주재하는 미국정부의 공식 대표’라는 표현이 이를 보여준다. 공사 임기 막바지였던 알렌이 20년 간 한국 주재 중 각종 이권계약을 체결하며 얻은 노하우가 계약 문안에 녹아있었다. 한편 파격적 이권 허가를 둘러싸고 각종 의혹이 제기되었다. 특히 콜브란, 알렌 간 유착의혹을 제기했던 미국인 사업가 헌트, 전 양지아문 기사 크럼의 고발은 이권 문제에 개재된 미국인 간 쟁투양상을 보여준다.

영어초록

This paper sheds light on the concessions granted by Gojong to an American concessionaire, Collbran & Bostwick Co, during the Russo-Japanese War, including electricity, water, and mining concessions, and analyzes various questions raised over the grant, mainly focusing on the Horace N. Allen Papers, which show the activities of Allen, then minister to Korea. The electricity and mining concessions, which provided for the establishment of a joint venture between the United States and Korea, stipulated that Gojong/the Imperial Household Department(宮內府) would have a half interest of the business. The contents of those contracts were far more favorable to the concessionaire than those of previous contracts and specified that the U.S. company soon to be incorporated would receive a “most favored company” treatment. Yet there was a stark difference between the grantor and the grantee. While Gojong sought to use American company as a proxy to counter the encroaching Japanese, Allen was preparing the possible change in Korea’s international status after the war, by stipulating that ‘the official representative of the United States Government at Seoul, Korea’, not the ‘U.S. Minister to Korea’, would represent the interests of the American company. As these three contracts were arranged at the end of Allen’s tenure, they incorporated the know-how he had gained through his 20 years of experience in Korea and the various contracts for concessions he had secured. Thus the contents of these concessions could be construed as the culmination of Allen’s career after many trials and errors. Meanwhile, various questions have been made raised upon the grant of these concessions. In particular, the accusations of Leigh S. J. Hunt, an American businessman, and Raymond Krumm, the former engineer for Board of Survey(量地衙門), who accused Collbran and Allen of having inappropriate ties, illustrate the conflicts and contests among Americans around the concession issue.

참고자료

· 없음