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'Syngman Rhee' or 'Lee Seungman' or 'Yee Sung-man' (March 26, 1875 – July 19, 1965) was the first president of South Korea. His presidency, from August 1948 to April 1960, remains controversial, affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere. Rhee was a strong anti-Communist, and led South Korea through the Korean War. His presidency ended in resignation following popular protests against a disputed election. He died in exile in Hawaii.

Contents

Early life

Presidency

Resignation

Legacy

Mentions in American pop culture

See also

References

External links

Early life

Rhee was born in Hwanghae Province to Rhee Kyong-sun, a member of an aristocratic Yangban family.^[1] Rhee was descended from Prince Yangnyeong, the eldest son of King Taejong of Joseon.^[2][3][4] He soon became active in Korea's struggle against Japanese hegemony. He was arrested in 1897 for demonstrating against the Japanese monarchy, being subsequently released in 1904 and going to the United States. He obtained several degrees (including an A.B. from George Washington University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University) and became so Westernized that he began writing his name in the Western manner, with the personal name preceding the family name.
In 1910, he returned to Korea, which had by this time been annexed by Japan. His political activism attracted unwelcome attention from the occupying army, and he left for China in 1912. In 1919, all of the major pro-independence factions formed the Provisional Government in Shanghai. Rhee was elected the president, a post he held for six years, until 1925 when he was impeached by the Provisional Assembly for the misuse of his authority.

Presidency

After Korea was liberated from Japan, Rhee returned to Seoul before the other independence leaders, since he was the only one well known to the Allies. In 1945, he was chosen as head of the Korean government. With the tacit consent of the occupation authorities, Rhee conducted a campaign to "remove Communism" that was actually a veiled drive to remove all potential opposition.
Rhee was elected the first president of South Korea on 10 May, 1948 by a parliamentary vote, defeating Kim Koo, the last president of the Provisional Government by a count of 180-16 after left-wing parties boycotted the election. On 15 August 1948, he formally took over power from the US military and de jure sovereignty of Korean people from the Provisional Government.
As president, Rhee assumed dictatorial powers even before the Korean War broke out in 1950. He allowed the internal security force (headed by his right-hand man, Kim Chang-ryong) to detain and torture suspected Communists and North Korean agents. His government also oversaw several massacres, the most notable being on the island of Jeju in response to an uprising by leftist factions. While massacres did occur under the regimes that succeeded Rhee, they were fewer in number and less widespread.
Rhee further damaged his reputation by encouraging the citizens of Seoul, the nation's capital, to remain in the city while he himself was already on his way to refuge as war broke out. His decision to cut the bridges on the Han River prevented thousands of citizens from escaping Communist rule. When UN and South Korean forces fought back and drove the North Koreans north towards the Yalu River (only to retreat to a line around the current DMZ because of Chinese counterattack), Rhee became unpopular with his allies for refusing to agree to a number of ceasefire proposals that would have left Korea divided. Hoping to become the leader of a united Korea, with U.N. assistance, he tried to veto any peace plan that failed to eliminate the northern government completely. He also argued for stronger methods to be used against China and often expressed annoyance at the reluctance of the U.S. to bomb it.
On January 18, 1952, Rhee declared South Korean sovereignty over the waters around the Korean peninsula, in a concept similar to that of today's exclusive economic zones. The maritime demarcation thus drawn up, which Rhee called the "Peace Line", included Liancourt Rocks and Tsushima Island.


Throughout his rule, Rhee sought to take additional steps to cement his control of the government. In May 1952 (shortly after being elected to a second term), when the government was still based in Busan due to the ongoing war, Rhee pushed through constitutional amendments which made the presidency a directly-elected position. In order to do this, he declared martial law and jailed the members of parliament whom he expected to vote against it. Rhee was subsequently elected by a wide margin. He regained control of parliament in the 1954 elections, and thereupon pushed through an amendment to exempt himself from the eight-year term limit.
Rhee's prospects for reelection during the presidential campaign of 1956 initially seemed dim. Public disillusionment regarding his attempt to seek a third term was growing, and the main opposition candidate Shin Ik-hee drew immense crowds during his campaign. Shin's sudden death while on the campaign trail, however, allowed Rhee to win the presidency with ease. The runner-up of that election, Cho Bong-am of the Progressive Party, was later charged with espionage and executed in 1959.

Resignation

By 1960, Rhee already served three terms in office. His victory was assured when the main opposition candidate, Cho Byeong-ok, died shortly before the March 15 elections. Rhee won with 90% of the vote. The real contest was in the race for vice president (held separately under the law of the time), and Rhee's heir apparent Yi Gi-bung was declared the victor in an election that the opposition claimed was rigged. This sparked off anger among segments of the Korean populace, and the student-led April 19 Movement forced Rhee to resign on April 26.
On April 28, a DC-4 belonging to the CIA - operated Civil Air Transport whisked Rhee out of South Korea and away from the clutches of a lynch mob that was closing in. Kim Yong Kap, Rhee's Deputy Minister of Finance, revealed that President Rhee had embezzled $20 million in government funds. Rhee, his Austrian-born wife, Franziska Donner, and adopted son lived in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii. On July 19 1965, Rhee died of a stroke. His body was returned to Seoul and buried in the National Cemetery on July 27 of the same year.

Legacy

Rhee's legacy has been in considerable dispute. In general, conservative circles regard Rhee as the patriarch of the nation, while liberals tend to be critical of him.
Rhee's former residence in Seoul, Ihwajang, is currently used for the presidential memorial museum, and Woo-Nam Presidential Preservation Foundation has been set up to honour his legacy.

Mentions in American pop culture

★ Rhee is mentioned in Billy Joel's history themed song "We Didn't Start the Fire".

★ Rhee is mentioned numerous times in Robert Altman's film MASH (1970) which is about a team of American army medical officers during the Korean War. For instance, when the lights go out in the operating room during surgery and then come back on a short time later one of the doctors says "Syngman Rhee paid the electric bill." Later, when Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) takes the young Korean mess hall boy Ho-Jon to get a medical checkup, he tells the South Korean guards that "This is Syngman Rhee's son, he goes right in" to get him better treatment.
In the television series of M
★ A
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★ , Radar O'Reilly tells Henry Blake about a celebration that is taking place in Seoul because "Syngman Rhee got elected dictator again."

See also

★ List of Korea-related topics

★ President of South Korea

References

1. Who Was Rhee Syngman?
2. Korea
3. [1]
4. Gyeongbokgong

External links

★ Syngman Rhee