Sunjong was elevated to the throne after his predecessor and father, Gojong, was forced to abdicate by the Empire of Japan.

Hence, Sunjong has been characterized by historians as being a powerless puppet ruler of the Japanese, reigning for just three years before Korea was officially annexed in 1910.

She died at the age of 31 on 5 November 1904 due to a severe depression, after trying to protect her mother-in-law (Empress Myeongseong, also a member of the Yeoheung Min clan) from her assassination on 8 October 1895 by the Japanese military.

[7] Sunjong's reign was limited by the gradually increasing armed intervention of the Japanese government in Korea.

Japan, in effect, officially abolished the Korean Empire on 29 August 1910, ending 519 years of the Joseon dynasty.

[7] Sunjong died on 24 April 1926, in Changdeokgung and is buried with his two wives at the imperial tomb of Yureung (유릉; 裕陵) in the city of Namyangju.