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South Korea Establishment of the Republic of Korea
In this atmosphere, the United States scuttled an earlier
plan to provide US$500 million over five years for South Korean
development. It then submitted the Korean problem to the United
Nations (UN) in September 1947. In November the UN General
Assembly recognized Korea's claim to independence and made
preparations for the establishment of a government and the
withdrawal of occupation forces. The United Nations Temporary
Commission on Korea arrived to supervise the election of a
national assembly, which was held in May 1948. The Soviet Union,
however, objected to the UN resolution and refused to admit the
commission to the Soviet-controlled zone in the north. It was
becoming increasingly clear that two separate regimes would be
established on the peninsula.
The prospect of perpetuating the division of Korea catapulted
some of the southern political leaders to action, significantly
altering the political configuration there. The choice they faced
was between immediate independence at the price of indefinite
division, or postponement of independence until the deadlock
between the United States and the Soviet Union was resolved. Rhee
had campaigned actively within Korea and the United States for
the first alternative since June 1946. Other major figures in the
right-wing camp, including Kim Ku and Kim Kyu-sik, decided to
oppose the "separate elections" in the south, hoping to resolve
the international impasse by holding talks with their northern
counterparts. The group led by the two Kims made their way to
P'yongyang, the future capital of North Korea, in April 1948,
boycotted the May 1948 elections, and were discredited when
P'yongyang cut off electricity, leaving Rhee a clear field though
he lacked grass roots support apart from the Korean Democratic
Party. By this time, the communists in the south had lost much of
their political following, particularly after a serious riot in
October 1946; most of their leaders congregated in the north. The
moderate left-wing camp was in disarray after their leader, Yo
Un-hyong, was assassinated in July 1947. Kim Kyu-sik had been the
clear choice of the United States military government, but he
could not be dissuaded from his fruitless trip to P'yongyang.
The National Assembly elected in May 1948 adopted a
constitution setting forth a presidential form of government and
specifying a four-year term for the presidency. Syngman Rhee,
whose supporters had won the elections, became head of the new
assembly. On this basis, when on August 15, 1948, the Republic of
Korea (South Korea) was proclaimed, Rhee assumed the presidency.
Four days after the proclamation, communist authorities completed
the severing of north-south ties by shutting off power
transmission to the south. Within less than a month, a communist
regime, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea),
was proclaimed under Premier Kim Il Sung, who claimed authority
over the entire country by virtue of elections conducted in the
north and the underground elections allegedly held in the south.
Rhee scarcely had time to put his political house in order before
North Korea launched its attack on South Korea in June 1950.
The South Korean army had come into being in September 1948
(see The South Korean Army after World War II
, ch. 5). A
communist-led revolt of army regiments in the southern part of
the peninsula in October of the same year, known as the YosuSunch 'on rebellion, had consumed much of the army's attention and
resources, however, and a massive purge in the aftermath of that
revolt weakened the entire military establishment. Given South
Korea's precarious future and the communist victory in China, the
United States was not eager to provide support. By June 29, 1949,
United States occupation forces had been withdrawn, save for a
handful of military advisers, and Korea had been placed outside
of the United States defense perimeter.
Data as of June 1990
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