Independence Club
The move and associated concessions were greeted with widespread outrage within Korea, led by the Independence Club. This reaction eventually spurred the king to return to Deoksugung after slightly more than a year at the Russian embassy. Russian guards continued to guard the king upon his return to the palace. This may have contributed to the declaration of the Korean Empire later in 1897, affirming Korea's independence. Ironically, this increase in Russian influence led to the end of Korean independence. After the Russo-Japanese war, Japan decided Korea was too weak to defend its independence and made Korea a protectorate to block any other foreign power from having domination over Korea.