Inoue Kaoru
With the assassination of his wife Queen Min, King Gojong and the Crown Prince (who later became Emperor Sunjong) fled to the Russian legation in 1896. From 1894 until the king's return from Russian protection, Korea underwent another major upheaval under the progressive leaders Inoue Kaoru installed after Japan's victory in the Sino-Japanese War. The new laws passed by progressives and reformers in the royal cabinet forced through long-desired reforms aimed at revamping Korea's antiquated society. These laws were called the Gabo Reform, referring to the year (1894) in which they began.