In this article, the role and status of the Cheom"eui?bu office during the Yuan intervention period is examined. The reigns of Kings Chung"ryeol?wang and Chungseon?wang are analyzed in particular, as the ruling structure of the late 13th and 14th centuries was formed in this period.
When most of the senior offices were demoted in 1275, the first year of king Chung"ryeol?wang"s reign, the original Three Offices were merged and became Cheom"eui?bu. Compared to the Three Offices, only a smaller number of senior and junior officials were associated with Cheom"eui?bu, and its overall role was reduced as well. But its administrative functions were strengthened, and the office was still considered as the highest office of the dynasty("百官之長"). It also held the rank of Jeong?Fourth and later Jong?Second, a rank that was bestowed from Yuan. It was also the office which represented the Goryeo dynasty in its relationship with the Mongol Yuan empire, as it originated official communiques to be sent to Yuan, and received official orders from Yuan as well.
Coming into the reign of King Chung"seon?wang, the administrative functions of Cheom"eui?bu were reinforced even more. In 1298, the year of his enthronement, Chung"seon?wang reduced the number of Jae"shin officials, and reinstated the Sang"seo Do"seong officials to increase the number of administrative personnel. When he was re?enthroned in 1308, he reduced the number of Jeong"seung ministers of the Cheom"eui?bu office to one, and newly created Jeon"mu?ryeong and Su"ryeong?gwan officials as field agents. By doing so, he designed Cheom"eui?bu to control both the capital and local regions while the king was staying in Yuan and was not able to oversee dynastic issues himself. It was a structure that meant the Cheom"eui Jeong"seung minister to serve as the acting King. The status and role of Cheom"eui?bu was significantly reinforced.
As we can see, the Cheom"eui?bu office became an office governing both the center and local areas of the dynasty, during the reigns of kings Chung"ryeol?wang and Chung"seon?wang. It earned the status of the highest office in the dynasty. This particular facet of its existence was due to a unique situation of this period: the king"s absence from the country, as the kings chose to stay in Yuan for many purposes. Compared to the previous offices, Cheom"eui bu was an office that was equipped ? with far more powerful administrative capabilities, as its authority was exercised not only in the capital but also in local governmental offices. Also, it held an official rank of its own, which often served as clear indicator of the office"s status in terms of the entire hierarchy inside the Goryeo government.