Yi Un

Yi Un (이은; 李垠; 20 October 1897 – 1 May 1970) was the last crown prince of the Korean Empire, the head of the former Korean imperial house after 1926, and a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the seventh son of Gojong of Korea and the son of Imperial Noble Consort Sunheon. Yi Un was designated crown prince in 1907 and was taken to Japan later that year for education under Japanese supervision. After the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910, the former Korean imperial house was incorporated into the Japanese-created ōkōzoku system. He married Princess Masako of Nashimoto in 1920 and succeeded Sunjong of Korea in 1926 as Yi Wang (李王), the Japanese-recognized head of the former Korean royal house. Yi Un served in the Japanese army, reached the rank of lieutenant general, served on the North China front, commanded the First Air Army, and was appointed a military councillor near the end of the Pacific War. After Japan's defeat in 1945, he lost his royal status in Japan and remained there until South Korea permitted his return in 1963. He returned while seriously ill and died at Changdeokgung in 1970.