It was the first privately managed daily newspaper in Korea and the first to print editions written exclusively in Hangul (and not interspersed with Hanja, as was common practice).

In exile, he learned from Pak Yeong-hyo (박영효, 朴泳孝) that he had been pardoned from the charge of high treason as of March 1895, and further, that his "Gaehwapa" (개화파, lit.

However, Seo rejected the proposal, urging grassroots enlightenment to be a more urgent matter than his entry into the national cabinet.

Accordingly, in January 1896 Seo Jae-pil and Yu Gil-chun reached an agreement to establish a non-governmental newspaper company and to publish both Korean and English editions beginning March 1 of that same year.

Indeed, the cabinet promised to grant him a fund (300 won a month) from the government budget and even appointed Seo as an advisor to the Jungchuwon (중추원; 中樞院), or Privy Council.

He rented a government-owned building in the Jung-dong district of Seoul, launched the Tongnip sinmun newspaper company, and published its first edition in April 1896.

In short, the Tongnip sinmun was the result of joint work between Seo Jae-pil and the government under the cabinets of both Kim and Park.

The first phase was the period from April 7 to July 2, 1896, which was the interval of time between the first publication of the newspaper and the establishment of the Tongnip Hyeophoe (독립협회; 獨立協會; lit.

In August 1897, the Russian government dispatched a military instructor and a financial adviser to Korea for the purpose of intervention and exploitation.

In response to these developments, the Tongnip sinmun began to criticize the government by reporting on corrupt officials and unjustifiable Russian intervention.

Even foreign diplomats pressured Korea's King Gojong to implement censureship controls over the paper when in 1898 it published some secret documents revealing Russian and Japanese plans to exact concessions from the Korean government.

Despite its continued publication, such aforementioned changes, as well as increasing government oppression, naturally led to the paper's loss of dignity as a newspaper.

In response to these developments, U.S. minister to Korea Horace Allen arranged for mediation between the government and Seo Jae-pil, still a substantial leader behind the scenes.