The continuous battles with Baekje and Goguryeo have taken a heavy toll on Silla and its people.
Drought, famine and disquiet is recurrent.
Different political views within the ruling nobility are frequent; when King Jinpyeong names his daughter Princess Deokman as his heir, the division grows even deeper, as many nobles are opposed to the idea of a reigning queen.
Political dissension peaks in May 631, when Ichan Chilsuk and Achan Seokpum plot an uprising.
The revolt is discovered in advance and both are executed; Chilsuk is beheaded in public and his relatives executed, while Seokpum, who had fled, is captured by soldiers and executed.
With the rebellion quashed, the power is left mainly in the hands of the King's supporters, the most important of whom is Kim Yushin, commander in chief of the royal army from 629, and it was in this political atmosphere that Princess Deokman is able to become queen.