He was framed with charges of factionalism by the power elite that opposed his reform measures and was sentenced to drink poison in the Third Literati Purge of 1519.

The Sarim faction had entered court politics during the reign of King Seongjong in the late 15th century but suffered two bloody purges under his successor Yeonsangun.

When Yeonsangun was eventually deposed in 1506, Jungjong was placed on the throne as the eleventh king of Joseon by the Hungu leaders who led the coup.

However, three main coup leaders died of natural causes by then, and Jungjong began to welcome Sarim scholars to his court to check the Hungu faction's power.

He was often recommended for a court position by high officials and fellow students at Seonggyngwan, but he delayed entering civil service to pursue further study until 1515, when he was recommended to King Jungjong by Minister of Personnel Ahn Dang along with 200 Seonggyungwan students and was immediately appointed to a position of junior sixth rank.

Jo argued that two offices violated their given function by suppressing free speech and petitioned the king to fire his superiors or accept his resignation since he could not work with them.

King Jungjong wanted to bring new talents to the royal court that was dominated by the Hungu faction, and Jo complied by introducing a new system of government recruitment via recommendations that were based on the candidates' moral character as well as scholarship.

[2] Deeply influenced by Zhu Xi's neo-Confucianism, Jo believed that ideal world of mythical Chinese Emperor Yao and Shun, could be achieved if all people from the king down to the low-born became morally refined and followed Confucius' teachings.

According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, it was said that no official dared to receive a bribe or exploit the populace during this time because of such strict enforcement.

For instance, he formed a friendship with a butcher/tanner of lowest class (baekjeong) who did not even have a name and admired his learning so much that he discussed state affairs with him and wanted to appoint him as a court official.

But the tanner repeatedly refused Jo's offer and then disappeared without a trace according to Records of Yeonryeoshil (연려실기술), a collection of official and unofficial history books compiled by Yi Geung-ik in late Joseon Dynasty.

According to famous Korean philosopher Yi I, Jo was admired so much by populace that when he appeared on streets people gathered before him saying, "Our master is coming.

"[4] Jo's radical reforms were popular with the populace, who called him the "living Buddha",[5] but he faced fierce opposition and hostility from the Hungu faction.

Because Jungjong was not a crown prince, he had not received thorough royal education expected of future king, and Sarim scholars sought to rectify this, believing that only learning could prevent a despot like Yeonsangun.

According to Jo, many officials who were awarded with special privileges including tax exemptions and huge stipends did not actually contribute much to the coup but gained their status through bribes or familial connections.

On November 15, 1519, Hungu leaders entered the palace secretly at night to bypass Royal Secretariat and present to the king written charges against Jo: he and his supporters "deceived the king and put the state in disorder by forming a clique and abusing their positions to promote their supporters while excluding their opponents, and thereby misleading young people to make extremism into habit, causing the young to despise the old, the low-born to disrespect the high-born.

"[10] Inspector General Jo, Justice Minister Kim Jung, and six others were immediately arrested, and they were about to be killed extra-judicially without trial or even investigation.

The Sarim faction had scored its biggest victory just four days ago when Jungjong granted their petition to revoke special status for 70 Hungu officials.

He wrote to Jungjong of his fear for this incident becoming a bloody purge and entreated that he would not regret dying ten thousand times if only he could be granted an audience.

[23] Nam Gon rather urged against executing Jo multiple times even as he was adding more and more names to the list of people to be purged through exile or dismissal.

Jo still could not believe Jungjong's heart really turned against him and hoped to be recalled by the king, keeping a north door open each day during exile.

But when he learned that Nam Gon and Shim Jung became Vice State Councillor and Minister of Personnel, he realized that Jungjong's change of heart was final.

[25] (It was customary to pay respect to the king in gratitude for granting poison, which was not an official method of execution and was considered more honorable form of death, instead of beheading or hanging.)

Hong Gyeong-ju died two years later of natural causes, but Shim Jung and Consort Gyeong of the Miryang Park clan were later executed on a framed charge of cursing the crown prince in a plot concocted by their rival Kim Ahn-ro (Queen Inmok’s relative).

Kim Ahn-ro was killed by rival Yun Won-hyeong (Queen Munjeong’s brother), who in turn was purged by King Myeongjong.

[28] Ten years after the purge, King Jungjong again began to advance Sarim scholars by recalling them from exile and reappointing them to the royal court.

Jo was greatly venerated by later generations of Korean neo-Confucianists as their spiritual head but was also criticized for mistakes that led to the failure of his reforms.

His dream of making neo-Confucianism the predominant philosophy of Joseon was soon accomplished by the reign of Seonjo, fifty years after his death.

Some people blame Jo for dogmatism of Korean Neo-Confucianism, which became very conservative and caused Korea to resist changes and new learnings from abroad.