First president of South Korea who demanded unification by force and refused to sign the armistice
In a July 1950 letter to Truman: 'I pray… that we can turn to the offensive, break through the hard crust of enemy forces and start the victorious march north.'
Syngman Rhee was a Korean independence activist imprisoned during the late Joseon period for his activities with the Independence Club; after his release he earned a PhD in political science at Princeton, and in 1919 became the first president of the Korean Provisional Government. In 1948 he was elected the first president of the Republic of Korea, building a fiercely anti-communist state under the National Security Law and publicly demanding the forcible reunification of the peninsula by marching north across the 38th parallel. During the Korean War he refused any armistice short of unification, and in 1953 he unilaterally released 27,000 anti-communist prisoners of war, nearly derailing the ceasefire talks; he never signed the armistice. Forced to resign by the April Revolution in 1960 after a rigged election, he died in exile in Hawaii.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1896–1898Independence Club and Hyeopseong Club activist; editor of Maeil Sinmun
- 1899–1904Imprisoned at Hanseong Prison; wrote The Spirit of Independence
- 1905–1910Studied in the US; PhD in political science, Princeton
- 1919–1925First President, Korean Provisional Government
- 1948Speaker of Constituent Assembly; elected first President of ROK
- 1948–19601st–3rd President; extended rule through constitutional amendments
- 1960–1965Resigned after April Revolution; exiled in Hawaii
Related historical events
Opposition to the Korean War Armistice and Release of Anti-Communist POWs
During the Korean War, Rhee argued that the war should not end before Korea was unified. He sent no Republic of Korea delegation to the armistice talks, ordered bombing near the negotiating site, and in 1953 unilaterally released about 27,000 prisoners of war who opposed repatriation. The move sought to disrupt negotiations over the prisoners’ disposition and the armistice, and shocked the United States and other United Nations command authorities. The armistice was ultimately concluded, but Rhee refused to sign it. The release came as negotiations were moving toward an end to the war. Some members of the U.S. Congress supported Rhee, while U.S. military commanders criticized the additional wartime losses associated with his actions. In 1960, students and citizens protested nationwide against the fraudulent March 15 election; the victory of the April 19 Revolution led Rhee to resign. This episode shows both his insistence on a hard-line anti-communist policy and forcible reunification, and the challenge posed to his government by mass protest at home.