After marching back from Wiwha Island, Yi Sung-gye(이성계) and his faction attacked people who had different political views from them. Roughly speaking, the people who were continuously faced political attack from Yi Sung-gye’s(이성계) faction were Choi Young(최영) and his associates, King U’s(우왕) relatives by marriage, Yi Saek(이색)’s and Chong Mong-ju’s(정몽주) groups, King Kongyang’s(공양왕) close associates, and influential military officials. They opposed to abolition of Sajon(사전혁파) and boycott of Buddhism(불교배척).
The great part of people who faced death as Yi Sung-gye’s opponents were military officials. In addition to Choi Young(최영) and his associates, influential military officials who even participated in Yi Sung-gye’s marching back from Wiwha Island, were removed. Having been removed by Yi Sung-gye, military officials who played active political roles in Goryeo Dynasty could not be seen in Dynastic Foundation Merit Subjects(개국공신) of Choson Dynasty. Most of military officials who became Dynastic Foundation Merit Subjects of Choson Dynasty were Yi Sung-gye’s subordinates.
Among Yi Sung-gye’s political opponents, not a few were the men who had maintained close relationship with Yi Sung-gye. Not to mention Cheong Mong-ju(정몽주) who acted as an agent combining civil officials with Yi Sung-gye politically, Yi Saek(이색) was the man who was inquired political consultation from Yi Sung-gye right after his marching back from Wihwa Island. Choi Young also related with Yi Sung-gye for a while. It was reasonable considering the fact that Yi Sung-gye seized political power as an official of Goryeo Dynasty. And men of Yi Sung-gye’s faction and their political opponents were closely related through civil service examinations(과거). Yi Sung-gye’s faction even contained confidants of Yi In-im(이인임) and Choi Young. The fact reveals that members of either opposing or assisting to Yi Sung-gye were not different from each other in their social and political backgrounds. This conclusion discloses that the existing interpretation which insisted that New Literati(사대부), who emerged at Late Goryeo, most of whom came from the ranks of the petty functionaries(향리) and small or middle-level landowners(중소지주), drove out the Powerful Families(권문세족) who were Pro-Yuan, possessing high positions, vast estates, and hundreds of slaves and created Chosun Dynasty was not valid.
After Yi Sung-gye’s enthronement, people who opposed to Yi Sung-gye in Late Goryeo were punished. In the result of that, 8 people including Yi Sung-in(이숭인) were dead. But most of people except them were reinstated government positions. Choi Young‘s associates, Yi In-im’s relatives, King U’s relatives by marriage, people who were close to Yi Saek and Chong Mong-ju were appointed to important positions. Even Chong Mong-ju was respected as a Royal Subject(충신) in Choson Dynasty. Accordingly, even though most of military officials of high position were replaced, Goryeo and Choson Dynasty were on the whole homogeneous rather than heterogeneous in its character of political powers.