1.3. A Corrupt Christian Regime and Inefficient Government
At the Cairo Declaration in December 1943, Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945), Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and Chiang Kaishek (1887-1975) pledged that "in due course Korea shall become free and independent". At the Yalta Meeting in February 1945, Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) also endorsed this pledge. Moreover Roosevelt concluded that the 38th parallel should partition Korea into northern and southern zones for the taking of the surrender of the Japanese armed forces. Throughout the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, United States military leaders insisted on encouraging Soviet entry into the war against Japan. Consequently, northern Korea was occupied by a Soviet military force on 9 August, 1945; south Korea being occupied by American military troops a month later on 8 September.
The United States were determined to create a Korean system of administration advantageous to the non-Communists. The Soviet Union were likewise determined to fashion a Soviet-oriented Korean realm. Accordingly there were now two regions; By September 1945 the Soviets had already begun to close off the 38th parallel.
The end of Japanese rule brought about political chaos amongst Koreans in both regions. In the post-Second World War era, Korea became one of the most sensitive spots in the world balance of power. Thus divided, Korea itself was the victim of the East-West conflict.
The Soviets had made far more advanced plans for their occupation of northern Korea than the American authorities had for the south. Conceivably the best mechanism for procuring unity in Korea in 1945 would have been Communism. No group could compete with the Communists in management and organisation. If the situation had not been recognised by the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK), the Communists would likely have controlled the Korean political arena south as well as north of the 38th parallel.
Inside north Korea, disparity between Western Christianity and Russian Communism deepened. Christianity to the Korean Communists meant the likelihood of pro-American views. This resulted from the fact that American missionaries had been used as 'agencies' in Korean Christian activity since the Japanese colonial government period. Thus numerous Christian nationalists were purged by the north Korean Communists.
In south Korea numerous political parties sprang up. As early as August 16, 1945, some Koreans formed a Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, and Yo Unhyong (Lyuh Woonhyung: 1885-1947) organised the left-wing Korean People's Republic (KPR). But on entering south Korea, the American commander Lt.Gen. Hodge declined to acknowledge any sort of political organisation, stressing that USAMGIK was the 'only' government. USAMGIK suppressed any kind of political movement from above, disbanded the People's Committees, ordered the KPR dissolved, and annulled the Provisional Government, headed by the nationalist leader Kim Ku. General Hodge arrived in Korea lacking any blueprint other than to demilitarise the Japanese armed force and evacuate the Japanese from south Korea. USAMGIK had no understanding of Korean history, culture, economy or social environment, nor could they speak the Korean language. What is more, General Hodge himself knew nothing of Korea, or of occupation duties or of Asian history, psychology or problems. USAMGIK moved on to maintain most of the disreputable colonial ruling structure of Japan across Korea. However, indignant Korean clamours soon led to the repatriation of Japanese administrators. The Korean population, who had enthusiastically hailed the American armed forces as their liberators, were disgruntled and their feelings of revulsion toward the Americans swiftly grew.
The Korean nationalists made various efforts to strengthen miscellaneous right wing groups into a more competent political association. However it was not until Syngman Rhee returned to Korea from the United States in mid-October 1945, that a combined organisation of the nationalists came forth. In late December 1945 the Council of Foreign Ministers (representing the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom) assembled in Moscow and agreed to set up a four-power trusteeship for up to five years. On receiving the news, Koreans responded furiously, making the trusteeship plan untenable.
Attempts to re-unify the Korean nation also failed through lack of understanding. While the Soviet Union was vigorously engaged in the establishment of power in the hands of the Communists in north Korea, USAMGIK was laying the groundwork for a separate rightist provisional government in the south. Subsequently, Syngman Rhee was chosen for this role.
The Cold War had already started, and the fundamental United States target in Korea was to construct a bastion opposing Communism. As a result of American policy, many colonial constabulary officials from north Korea, having fled or been expelled from their posts in the north, came south to join the USAMGIK constabulary force. These Koreans had actively collaborated with the Japanese, but America chose to ignore the consequences of employing them in favour of expediting a 'productive' executive. This group was further favoured because of America's suspicion towards the leftist constitution of the Korean People's Republic. By encouraging many colonial constabulary officials to join the USAMGIK constabulary force, USAMGIK aimed to revive and strengthen the pro-Japanese colonial framework of dominion and control of the Korean peninsula.
Consequently, by the eve of the Korean War, the United States had created an anti-Communist bloc in South Korea by using primarily either pro-Japanese or Japanese collaborator groups, in direct response to the collusion of the two regional powers (the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union) which formed the Communist bloc. America's single preoccupation was with the "warring Communists" in the Korean peninsula and the Soviet Union.
Syngman Rhee, a former member of the old Independence Club, had been president of the Korean Provisional Government when it was in Shanghai and had spent most of his adult life in the United States. Rhee returned to Korea in October 1945. Although he had formerly been an anti-Japanese activist during the colonial era, as a means to seize political power, Rhee wished to maintain amicable relations with the Japanese-trained constabulary but not with Japan. Rhee needed the constabulary since they alone could control the process of the coming presidential elections to bring him into power. In turn the constabulary saw Rhee as indispensable, a shield from retaliation, given that most of the constables had helped the Japanese.
In 1948, Rhee was elected as the first president of the Republic of Korea (ROK). On June 26, 1949 Kim Ku (1876-1949), Rhee's principal opponent, was assassinated by a military officer An Tuhui who, despite proof of guilt, was released, reinstated, and promoted to lieutenant colonel.
In the meantime, north of the 38th parallel the Soviets rushed to install an indigenous regime modelled on the Soviet political system. In February 1946, the Provisional People's Committee for north Korea became the central government, with Kim Ilsung as its chairman. Kim had returned to north Korea with Soviet troops in early September 1945 as a major in the Soviet military group. The process of the communisation of north Korea followed swiftly. In 1948 the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established.
After the establishment of the ROK and the DPRK, the United States and the Soviet Union withdrew their occupation forces from the peninsula. On 12 January 1950 Dean Acheson (1893-1971), Secretary of State in America, spoke at the Press Club in Washington D.C. on Asia policy, implying exclusion of South Korea from the American defence perimeter in Asia. Acheson's Republican opponents, especially Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (1908-1957), criticised him for giving 'the green light' to the North Korean Communists to strike. Clearly Acheson's speech fundamentally contributed to the Korean War. It is also clear that North Korea was the agressor in the immediate sense and that Moscow had somewhat reluctantly promised its backing. Consequently the Korean War broke out in 1950 lasting for three years.
During the Korean War, North Korea was backed by Soviet tanks and artillery along with one million Chinese troops, while South Korea was supported by American air power and United Nations armed forces. The War was the first armed conflict of the Cold War. Before the War the two Koreas had only a weak ideological basis as two separated states. But the Korean War provided an ideological basis for lending legitimacy to the evolution of more firmly opposed regimes: South Korea, as an anti-Communist state, North Korea as an anti-capitalist state, both used "ideology" as a means of consolidating their own dictatorship.
The War caused immense devastation. The entire area of South Korea was a battleground, and North Korea underwent persistent and massive aerial bombardment. During the War, 43% of Korea's industrial facilities and 33% of its homes were destroyed throughout the peninsula. Along with civilian losses of 1 million, approximately 313,000 members of the armed forces died (including 33,629 United States and 3,194 United Nations forces); North Korean and Chinese fatalities were reckoned at over 2.5 millions including 1 million civilians. The War concluded with an armistice on 27 July, 1953, having accounted for approximately 4 million casualties, including civilians. But in truth, it was an unfinished war. Even today, there is an 'invisible' psychological war between the two Koreas, which are in a constant state of apprehension over possible future conflict. After the War, the two Koreas' military sectors over-expanded, strengthened by a strong state apparatus.
Syngman Rhee was convinced of his own indispensability for the creation of 'everlasting prosperity' in his new-born republic. Rhee controlled South Korea by autocratic government with United States support and aid. During the Korean War in 1951 Rhee established his political machine, the Liberal Party. The following year, when Rhee understood that he would not be re-elected to the presidency by constitutional procedures, he proclaimed martial law on the allegation that certain Assemblymen had links with the North Korean Communists, incarcerating fourteen anti-Rhee Assemblymen. He even outlawed the Voice of America and the circulation of Newsweek and Time, which carried negative reports on his behaviour. As a result, in 1954 Rhee succeeded in compelling the National Assembly to pass a constitutional amendment bill providing a life-term presidency for himself. Since there was no check and balance system, his government's corruption and ineffectiveness became widespread.
As bureaucratic and financial corruption amongst government officials and members of the Liberal Party and abuse of police powers increased, a popular aspiration for change grew, especially among urban constituents. There was a strong connection between the Liberal Party and conservative Christian groups. President Rhee, Vice-President Yi Kibung (1896-1960) and many high government officials were Christians. Korean Christians supported the Rhee regime without criticism. Korean Christians also enjoyed various privileges from the Rhee regime. In particular, Christians concentrated on increasing the number of Christians in churches and government circles, rather than concerning themselves with the country's socio-political difficulties. Under Rhee and Yi Kibung, Korean Christians were very tolerant toward the Liberal Party.
On the eve of the 1960 presidential election, government-hired gangsters smashed the opposition party offices and beat up their campaigners and supporters in the local cities and towns. Rigging of the election was widespread throughout the country. The fabricated elections in March 1960 and subsequent killing of a student by the police, which was exacerbated by riots at Masan in April and led to the Student Revolt of 19 April, came in the wake of an immense student rally at Korea University in Seoul. This rally was attacked by government-hired hooligans again, who maimed and seriously wounded many students. The result caused student outrage and extensive social agitation to spread throughout the nation.
Inevitably, an outbreak of civil disobedience began against Rhee's rule. Martial Law was declared and the armed forces were mobilised, the police being unable to subdue the disquiet. However, protest continued on a daily basis from 19 April until the cabinet was compelled to resign. On 26 April, after a demonstration by university professors, the United States criticised Rhee's oppressive rule. He resigned, going into exile in Hawaii, where he died in 1965. Consequently, the corrupt First Republic and Liberal Party, which had come to power on a massive wave of enthusiasm, dramatically vanished.
After the collapse of the First Republic, the Democratic Party of Chang Myon (1899-1966) won new elections. But Chang had been chosen as prime minister by only a three-vote margin, although the Democratic Party dominated the National Assembly. The fact that Chang's political colleagues failed to back him denoted severe problems within the party.
The Second Republic adopted a parliamentary system in place of the presidential system. Civil rights expanded rapidly, but at the same time this was a period of political and social upheaval. Thus the Second Republic lasted just nine months before being removed by a military coup.
Chang was a man lacking in firmness and charisma, gaining power at a time of political and economic turbulence. The Chang government was thus unable to prevent the deterioration of the economy or more importantly even its own factional conflict. Throughout the Second Republic, although it lasted only nine months, inflation grew to 38%, the unemployment rate to approximately 25% and the number of street demonstrations rapidly increased, up to 2,000 over the period of the nine months rule of the Second Republic. Certain enthusiastic attempts by the Government to introduce reforms failed. They were dealing with a nation consumed by social and economic disorders accumulated throughout a prolonged period.
The Chang government was unable to tackle the highly flammable condition of the fragile country. Furthermore even prior to Chang's programme of economic reform, the Democratic Party elite was severely enfeebled by the factional conflicts inside its ranks. Due to its burning factionalism, during the nine months of the Second Republic, there were three cabinets reshuffles, which destroyed the continuity of the administration and its efficiency.
Student leaders' demands in 1961 for an immediate conference with North Korea on re-unification, and for a north-south student meeting at P'anmunjom (De-Militarised Zone) were frightening to the people who still clearly bore in mind the Korean War. The dilemma of the Chang government rested on the fact that they could not subdue the demonstrations. Student demonstrations had contributed a great deal to Chang's electoral success. Without their contribution he could not have become premier. More importantly, the Democratic Party would have been unable to hold onto power as the ruling party. It seems that the students benefited from the birth of Chang's government as much as Chang's government benefited from the students. Facing this dilemma the Second Republic was unable to do much about the mounting student demands and demonstrations and consequently within a year the Chang Government was overthrown by a military coup.
I have examined the corrupt regime of Syngman Rhee and the inefficient government of Chang Myon. As I have shown, from the beginning Rhee's regime was unstable, since Rhee was closely connected with the pro-Japanese police and collaborators. What is more, Rhee relied upon these Japanese collaborators as much as the USAMGIK to expand his political influence within the peninsula. Naturally the Rhee regime had an ideological disadvantage compared with its more 'nationalistic' northern counterpart. During the Rhee regime, the United States supported an undemocratic regime, in the name of democracy and also disowned the regime when there were mounting protests from the population. The Second Republic and the Chang government lasted less than nine months, and were removed by the 'efficient' military. The bud of democracy had disappeared for the next three decades.