The "Gaehwapa" members had failed to secure appointments to vital offices in the government and subsequently were unable to implement their reform plans. As a consequence, they were prepared to seize power by all means necessary. An opportunity presented itself to stage a coup d’état in August 1884. As hostilities between France and China erupted over Annam, half of the Chinese troops were withdrawn from Korea. On December 4, 1884, with the help of the Japanese minister Takezoe Shinichiro, who promised to mobilize Japanese legation guards to provide assistance, the members of the "Gaehwapa" staged their coup under the guise of a banquet hosted by Hong Yeong-sik, director of the General Postal Administration ("Ujeong Chongguk") to celebrate the opening of the new national post office. King Gojong was expected to attend together with several foreign diplomats and high-ranking officials, most of whom were members of the pro-Chinese "Sadaedang" faction. Kim Ok-gyun and his comrades approached King Gojong, falsely stating that Chinese troops had created a disturbance and escorted him to a small palace, the Gyoengu Palace, where they placed him in the custody of Japanese legation guards. They then proceeded to kill and wound several senior officials of the "Sadaedang" faction.