"Although Hwangseong Shinmun had clearly declared that rumours of the Japanese incorporation of Liancourt Rocks were baseless two months before the July communication, and although the July communication reminded the Resident-General, Itou Hirobumi, of the 1900 Imperial Decree reaffirming Korea's state authority over Liancourt Rocks, there is no evidence that the then Resident-General or any other representation of Imperial Japan raised a formal objection to it.In a memorial speech at the first anniversary of the 1919 March 1st Movement, Prime Minister Yi Dongnyeong accused the Japanese government of illegal incorporation of Liancourt Rocks of 1905.