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HISTORY

At the end of World War II in 1945, the Korea Peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule, which had been in place since 1910. To fill the power vacuum, Soviet forces occupied the northern portion of the Korea Peninsula, and United States forces occupied the southern portion. This political division was considered only temporary, but subsequent reunification efforts failed. In 1948 the division became official when the Republic of Korea, backed by the United States and the United Nations, was established south of the 38th parallel, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, backed by the Soviet Union and China, was established north of the 38th parallel. For the history of the Korea Peninsula before 1948, see Korea.

The Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea, was proclaimed on August 15, 1948. Its first president, Syngman Rhee, was elected by a legislature that had been popularly elected in May 1948. The legislative elections were sponsored and supervised by United Nations (UN) representatives. Left-wing groups had boycotted these elections, and virtually all the legislators were firm anti-Communists, as was their chosen president.

A. Unstable Beginnings

The main objective of the first South Korean government was the suppression of leftist groups, some of them independent but many supported by the Communist government of North Korea. The United States, concerned about leftist guerrilla activity and the potential of invasion from North Korea, delayed withdrawing its occupation forces in South Korea until June 1949.

However, the security situation remained extremely tenuous in the Korea Peninsula. The North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung, sought to unify the Korea Peninsula under Communist rule. In June 1950 he launched a full-scale military invasion of South Korea, thereby starting the Korean War. The United States immediately gained UN Security Council support for the defense of South Korea and committed American ground troops to the war. The Korean War was ultimately one of the most destructive and deadly wars of the 20th century. Perhaps as many as 4 million Koreans died throughout the peninsula, the majority of them civilians.

During the war, South Korean president Rhee governed under martial law, and he used his power to force the legislature to adopt a constitutional amendment providing for popular election of the president. Rhee was popularly elected to a second term in 1952.

In July 1953 an armistice agreement signed by the UN, North Korea, and China—South Korea refused to sign—ended the fighting of the Korean War. Without a formal peace treaty, however, North Korea and South Korea technically remained at war. Their shared border, known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), remained heavily fortified and guarded on both sides. With the consent of South Korea, the United States continued to maintain a military presence in the country.

South Korea made a slow recovery from the war. Rhee was unable to produce any significant economic development despite much aid from the United States. He easily won reelection in 1956 and 1960, but blatant manipulation of the 1960 elections led to nationwide protests that culminated in Rhee’s forced resignation on April 27, 1960. The moderate government of John M. Chang that followed Rhee’s departure implemented liberalizing reforms in many areas, but economic development still lagged. Military leaders, fearing growing instability and wary of student agitation for talks with North Korea, staged a coup on May 16, 1961.

B. Military Rule under Park Chung Hee

The ruling military junta, led by Park Chung Hee, dissolved the parliament, governed by decree, and banned all political activity until October 1963, when Park was narrowly elected president. As president, Park launched economic reforms designed to industrialize South Korea. Despite widespread public opposition, Park signed a treaty with Japan in 1965, dropping Korean demands for war reparations in return for economic aid. Japanese capital soon began to flow into Korea. The country also earned foreign exchange by sending troops and contract workers to aid the United States during the Vietnam War (1959-1975). This led to a dramatic spurt of industrialization and export-oriented growth.

Little was left to chance in Park’s government. Politics were dominated by his Democratic Republican Party (DRP), which by its control of funds and patronage easily overwhelmed all opposition groups. In addition, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), responsible for intelligence and anti-North operations, carried out surveillance and intimidation of political dissidents.

In the presidential election of 1971, Park narrowly defeated the opposition candidate, Kim Dae Jung of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Park and his ruling DRP quickly moved to consolidate power before the 1973 legislative elections. In October 1972 Park’s government declared martial law, dissolved the legislature, and suspended the 1962 constitution. The following month, the government introduced a new constitution, known as the Yushin (Revitalizing Reform) constitution, which greatly expanded presidential powers and allowed Park to remain in office indefinitely.

The political opposition immediately began agitating for constitutional reforms. However, Park issued numerous emergency measures that banned activities of the political opposition. The Presidential Emergency Measure for Safeguarding National Security, issued in 1975, banned student demonstrations. Many political dissidents who agitated for constitutional reform were arrested and jailed. Even as civil rights were suppressed or violated, rapid industrialization of the country achieved spectacular economic growth. South Korea’s exports flooded Western markets, and the country ceased its dependence on foreign aid.

C. Regime of Chun Doo Hwan

In October 1979 military forces violently suppressed an antigovernment uprising in the southern cities of Busan and Masan. Later that month, President Park was assassinated by Kim Jae Kyu, the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (now known as the Agency for National Security Planning). Premier Choi Kyu Hah became acting president, and the government proclaimed martial law. In December army general Chun Doo Hwan staged a coup within the armed forces, seizing control as martial law commander. Chun emerged as the dominant leader in the country, overshadowing President Choi.

Demonstrations erupted in many cities demanding an end to martial law and the adoption of a new constitution. In May 1980 Chun arrested leaders of the political opposition and banned all political activity. Despite these restrictions, political dissidents staged a pro-democracy protest that developed into a massive uprising in the city of Gwangju in mid-May. During the ensuing military crackdown, army troops killed at least two hundred civilian protesters.

In August 1980 President Choi suddenly stepped down, and Chun secured the presidency by indirect vote. A new constitution, providing for a single seven-year presidential term but also retaining many of the Yushin-type control mechanisms, went into effect in April 1981. President Chun’s regime scored a diplomatic coup when the International Olympic Committee designated Seoul as the site for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.

D. Democratic Reforms

Following a series of mass protests in June 1987, President Chun promised democratic reforms, including direct presidential elections. Voters adopted a new, democratic constitution in a referendum in October, and Roh Tae Woo, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Justice Party (DJP) and a longtime supporter of Chun, was elected president in December. The new constitution took effect in February 1988.

In the 1988 elections to the National Assembly, the DJP won the most seats but failed to secure a majority. The Peace and Democracy Party (PDP) of Kim Dae Jung became the main opposition party. Later that year, South Korea hosted the Summer Olympics. In 1990 the DJP merged with two other parties to form the Democratic Liberal Party (DLP). This maneuver secured the new party an absolute majority in the legislature. In March 1991 the first local elections in 30 years were held. DLP candidates won a majority of posts.

Although some democratic reforms had taken hold in South Korea, distrust of government ran deep. Students and workers regularly staged protests and strikes from 1988 to 1991. The annual anniversary of the 1980 massacre in Gwangju was commemorated with mass demonstrations that resulted in clashes between protesters and police. Public unrest escalated in 1991 with the revelation of a government bribery scandal and the beating to death of a student protester by police. In response to weeks of widespread demonstrations precipitated by the fatal beating, the government relaxed the National Security Law and reined in police activity.

In the presidential elections of December 1992, South Koreans elected Kim Young Sam, a former political dissident who had merged his opposition party into the DLP in 1990. Soon after taking office, Kim launched an anticorruption reform program that included publicizing the assets of politicians, senior civil servants, and some judiciary and military members. Resignations followed from many people whose publicized wealth was clearly disproportionate to their income levels. In December 1993 the government agreed to open the heavily protected Korean rice market to imports. The resulting public outcry, which included violent demonstrations in Seoul, led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hwang In Sung and his cabinet, although the decision to allow rice imports was not reversed.

In late 1995 Kim’s anticorruption campaign resulted in the arrest of his predecessors, Chun and Roh. They were put on trial on charges they had accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes from business interests while in office. Both former presidents were subsequently put on trial for their alleged roles in the 1979 military coup that brought Chun to power and the May 1980 massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Gwangju. In 1996 Chun and Roh were convicted of mutiny, sedition, and corruption. Chun received the death sentence (reduced to life imprisonment on appeal), while Roh received 22.5 years in prison (reduced to 17 years on appeal). In addition, their corruption convictions required them to pay millions of dollars in fines.

Meanwhile, Kim Young Sam denied allegations from the opposition that he had personally received money for his 1992 presidential campaign from Roh’s stash of illegal funds. In December 1995 Kim renamed the DLP the New Korea Party (NKP) in an effort to distance the party from its association with the military regimes of Chun and Roh.

In January 1996 Kim admitted in a televised address to the nation that before becoming president he had accepted political donations from business interests; however, he denied the funds were bribes for political favors. In late March 1996 Kim’s former aide of 20 years, Chang Hak Ro, was arrested on bribery charges, casting doubt on Kim’s anticorruption campaign just weeks before the April parliamentary elections. The NKP lost control of the National Assembly in the elections; shortly thereafter, however, it was able to recruit 11 independent legislators to regain its 150-seat majority.

E. Economic Crisis

In 1997 the South Korean government was rocked by further scandals, this time involving fraudulent loans, which resulted in a cabinet reshuffle. An economic crisis developed in December when investors, already shaken by a regional economic crisis in Asia, lost confidence in the debt-laden South Korean economy. The currency plummeted in value, leading to a rapid depletion of South Korea’s foreign currency reserves. This in turn threatened the ability of the government, banks, and industries to repay foreign debt. Furthermore, the unemployment rate soared as unstable businesses declared bankruptcy. In November the government accepted one of the largest aid packages ever arranged with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The agreement required South Korea to implement tough austerity measures, such as reductions in public spending, and tax and interest rate hikes.

The economic crisis led to widespread dissatisfaction with Kim Young Sam’s government. In the presidential election of December 1997, voters elected Kim Dae Jung, a longtime opposition leader and pro-democracy advocate, by a narrow margin. The vote marked the first time an opposition politician won the presidency in South Korea. He was also the first politician from the country’s southwestern region to become president. Previously, all presidents had hailed from the country’s politically dominant southeastern region. Shortly after the elections, President Kim Young Sam pardoned former presidents Chun and Roh, releasing them from prison, at the request of President-elect Kim Dae Jung. Both Kims agreed the gesture of clemency would help reconcile regional antagonisms that surfaced during the hotly contested elections, in the interest of uniting the country behind efforts to resolve the economic crisis.

To address the economic crisis, Kim’s government vigorously pursued economic restructuring, and Kim emerged as a champion of deregulation, privatization, and foreign investment in South Korea. He led the country through short-term hardships associated with the reforms, including rising inflation and unemployment. In 1999 South Korea’s economy showed strong signs of recovery, and it sustained growth into the early 2000s.

F. Relations with North Korea

Relations between North Korea and South Korea were tense during the late 1960s and at times during the 1970s and 1980s. Both countries were admitted to the United Nations in September 1991. Three months later the two countries signed a nonaggression pact. However, relations between them continued to be troubled. Allegations about North Korea’s possible nuclear weapons development program strained relations in 1994. In December 1995 a U.S.-led consortium that included South Korea reached an agreement with North Korea over the suspension of its suspected nuclear weapons program. Under this agreement, South Korea agreed to help finance the replacement of two of North Korea’s nuclear reactors with modern versions designed to produce less weapons-grade plutonium.

In a further bid to open dialogue with North Korea, South Korea approved a $19.2-million investment package involving three joint-venture projects in North Korea. South Korea also extended emergency food aid, which was desperately needed in North Korea after massive summer floods destroyed many of the country’s agricultural crops.

In 1998 Kim Dae Jung encouraged economic contact with North Korea and offered unconditional economic and humanitarian aid in the hope of improving political relations. His approach, known as the Sunshine Policy, thawed relations between the two countries. In June 2000 Kim and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il held talks in P’yŏngyang, the North Korean capital, and agreed in principle to promote reconciliation and economic cooperation between the two countries. This landmark event was the first face-to-face meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea since the two republics were founded in 1948.

The improved relations between the two governments led to the first authorized cross-border visits of family members separated since the Korean War, the start of mail service between the two countries, and agreement by both sides to reconnect road and rail links long severed by the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia, in September, athletes from North Korea and South Korea symbolically paraded together under the neutral flag of the Korea Peninsula, although they competed separately in the games. The following month, Kim Dae Jung was awarded the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to bring about reconciliation with North Korea.

G. Recent Developments

In 2002 South Korea and Japan cohosted the World Cup, one of the most popular international sporting events. It marked the first time the soccer tournament was held in Asia, and the first time it was jointly hosted by two countries.

Kim was constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. The candidate of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), Roh Moo Hyun, won the December 2002 presidential election. Roh had staked his campaign on the continuation of Kim’s so-called Sunshine Policy of diplomatic and economic engagement with North Korea. The election took place amid an increasingly unstable situation on the Korea Peninsula due to tensions between North Korea and the United States. Relations between the two countries rapidly deteriorated after it was revealed in October that North Korea had been secretly pursuing a program to develop nuclear weapons by enriching uranium, one of two ways to develop a nuclear bomb. See also Arms Control.

During the election campaign, strong anti-American sentiment surfaced in South Korea, especially among younger voters. Large demonstrations called for an end to the U.S. military presence in the peninsula. The demonstrations were partly a response to the release by a U.S. military court of two American soldiers, whose large armored vehicle had accidentally run over and killed two middle-school-aged girls. Although Roh’s election campaign tended to identify with younger voters, Roh spoke clearly after his victory of the need for American troops to remain in South Korea. Roh was nevertheless disappointed that he found little support from the administration of U.S. president George W. Bush for his pursuit of South Korea’s Sunshine Policy with North Korea.

In March 2004 Roh was impeached by a two-thirds vote in the National Assembly for allegedly violating South Korea’s electoral laws. It was the first time in South Korea’s history that a president was impeached. The electoral laws require government officials to remain neutral in election campaigns, but Roh had indicated his support for the Uri Party prior to the legislative elections scheduled for April. The Grand National Party (GNP) and Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) initiated the vote to impeach Roh. Although Roh had been elected as the candidate of the MDP in 2002, he later split with the party. In addition, a faction of the MDP left the party in September 2003 and subsequently formed the new Uri Party to support Roh. However, the GNP and MDP controlled the legislature and formed a strong political opposition to Roh.

Public opinion polls showed that 70 percent of South Koreans did not support Roh’s impeachment. In the April 2004 legislative elections, voters appeared to deliver a stinging rebuke to the parties that had led the drive to impeach Roh. Both the GNP and the MDP lost seats in the National Assembly, while the Uri Party more than tripled its representation. The Uri Party gained a slim majority, winning 152 of 299 seats. The GNP held on to 121 seats, while the MDP retained only 9. The left-wing Democratic Labor Party, which is tied to South Korea’s trade unions, unexpectedly won 10 seats.

The 2004 elections represented the first time in more than 40 years that a liberal party won control of the legislature. Political differences between the Uri Party and the conservative GNP are fairly sharp. The Uri Party believes economic cooperation with North Korea will help persuade the North to liberalize and to abandon its nuclear weapons program, while the GNP has tried to block economic aid packages for North Korea.

Meanwhile, the impeachment of Roh stripped him of his powers, which were then carried out by the prime minister until a ruling by the Constitutional Court. In May 2004 the court ruled to dismiss the impeachment case, thereby restoring full presidential powers to Roh. In the opinion of the court, Roh had violated electoral law but his infraction was too minor to warrant impeachment.