In the late 19th century, various problems arose in Ulleungdo, including illegal logging by the Japanese. The government of the Korean Empire demanded that the Japanese government order the withdrawal of the illegal loggers. The Korean Empire also decided to strengthen laws pertaining to the local administration of Ulleungdo.

On October 24, 1900, the Uijeongbu (State Council) decided that “Ulleungdo shall be renamed Uldo” and “the post of inspector [dogam] shall be promoted to county magistrate [gunsu].” The changes were approved by the Emperor on October 25, 1900 and published as Imperial Decree No. 41 in the government’s official gazette on October 27, 1900.

Article 2 of Imperial Decree No. 41 stipulates that “as regards the districts, all of Ulleungdo as well as Jukdo and Seokdo [Dokdo] shall be placed under the jurisdiction of Uldo-gun (Uldo county),” explicitly including Dokdo among the districts under the jurisdiction of Uldo-gun (Uldo county).

As such, the Imperial Decree No. 41 clearly demonstrates the historical fact that the government of the Korean Empire exercised its sovereignty over Dokdo as a part of Ulleungdo.