Yeo Un-hyeong
여운형
He met Lenin and Sun Yat-sen, then staked everything on left-right unity: the last Korean unificationist before partition
“A revolutionary does not die in bed. I will die in the street.” He said this to his children after surviving multiple assassination attempts. On 19 July 1947, at the Hyehwa-dong rotary, a bullet from the White Shirts Society found him.
In 1918 he founded the New Korean Youth League and sparked the March First Movement through the February 8 Declaration of Independence. He co-founded the Korean Provisional Government, met Lenin and Trotsky in Moscow (1922), and joined the Chinese Nationalist Party at Sun Yat-sen's invitation. In August 1945 he secured peaceful transfer of authority from Japan's governor-general, formed the Committee for Preparation of Korean Independence, and became vice-chair of the People's Republic of Korea. In 1946–47 he led the left-right cooperation movement with Kim Kyu-sik, the last serious attempt at a unified Korea, before being assassinated by a right-wing terrorist. He is officially honored by both South and North Korea.
Career timeline
- 1918Founded New Korean Youth League in Shanghai; became its leader
- 1919Led the February 8 Declaration of Independence; Deputy Foreign Minister of the Korean Provisional Government
- 1920–1922Joined Koryŏ Communist Party (Shanghai faction); met Lenin and Trotsky at the Congress of the Peoples of the East in Moscow
- 1925–1929Joined Chinese Nationalist Party at Sun Yat-sen's invitation; participated in First United Front
- 1933–1936President of Chosun JoongAng Ilbo; Chairman of Joseon Sports Council
- 1944Founded the secret Korean Restoration Brotherhood; built nationwide network
- 1945.08–09Chairman, Committee for Preparation of Korean Independence; Vice-Chair, People's Republic of Korea
- 1946–1947Led left-right cooperation movement with Kim Kyu-sik; Chairman, Labor People's Party