The Founding of the Republic of Korea

Koreans rejoiced at Japan's World War II defeat. However, their joy was short-lived. Liberation did not instantly bring about the independence for which the Koreans had fought so fiercely. Rather, it resulted in a country divided by ideological differences caused by the emerging Cold War. Korean efforts to establish an independent government were frustrated as U.S. forces occupied the southern half of the peninsula and the Soviet troops took control of the north.

In November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that called for general elections in Korea under the supervision of a U.N. Commission. However, the Soviet Union refused to comply with the resolution and denied the U.N. Commission access to the northern half of Korea. The U.N. General Assembly then adopted another resolution calling for elections in areas accessible to the U.N. Commission.

The first elections in Korea were carried out on May 10, 1948, in the areas south of the 38th parallel. This parallel came to divide the Korean Peninsula into north and south. Syngman Rhee was elected the first President of the Republic of Korea in 1948. Meanwhile, north of the 38th parallel, a Communist regime was set up under the leadership of Kim Il-sung.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of the South, triggering a three-year war which was joined by U.S., Chinese and other foreign forces. The entire peninsula was devastated by the conflict. A cease-fire was signed in July 1953. The war left almost three million Koreans dead or wounded and millions of others homeless and separated from their families. Serious social disorder continued under the government of President Syngman Rhee.

Korea's democracy was not mature at the time, and the country experienced tremendous political and economic difficulties. President Rhee stepped down in April 1960 as a result of a student-led uprising. The Second Republic was established as Chang Myon of the Democratic Party formed a government in August 1960. However, the new government was brought down by a coup d'etat led by Major General Park Chung-hee on May 16, 1961.

The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction headed by General Park took over the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of the government. Park became President in an election in 1963. Park's government pursued rapid industrialization and achieved high economic growth during the 1960s and 70s, often dubbed "the Miracle on the Hangang River," but his rule was accompanied by severe restriction of people's political rights and civil liberties.

The assassination of President Park in October 1979 brought a transition period under martial law. Choi Kyu-hah, who was installed as a caretaker President, resigned in August 1980, and Chun Doo-hwan, leader of a powerful officers' group, was elected President by the National Conference for Unification, an electoral college. Pro-democracy movement intensified throughout the 1980s and presidential election by direct popular vote was restored in a constitutional revision in 1987.

Roh Tae-woo, also a former general, was elected President under the new Constitution but the democratic advances achieved during his administration set the stage for the election of the first civilian president in 32 years. Kim Young-sam, a long-time pro-democracy activist, was elected president in 1992 on the ruling party ticket.

In the 1997 presidential election, Kim Dae-jung, leader of the major opposition National Congress for New Politics (NCNP), was elected. His administration, called the "Government of the People," was created through the first-ever peaceful transfer of power from the ruling to an opposition party in Korean constitutional history.