Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1945, The British Commonwealth, The Far East, Volume VI

895.00/9–2945

The Political Adviser in Korea (Benninghoff) to the Secretary of State

No. 6

[Seoul,] 29 September, 1945.

Sir: I have the honor to submit certain observations and comments in regard to the political situation in Korea at the present time. Although there is still a great deal of confusion, and although it is impossible to determine party lines or individual convictions with any accuracy, certain definite trends have developed which appear to be worthy of note. For most of the factual information contained in this report I am indebted to G–2,⁸² USAFIK, who has a sizeable staff and without whose cooperation it would be impossible for me to acquire any detailed knowledge of current trends.

General. Seoul, and perhaps southern Korea as a whole, is at present politically divided into two distinct groups; each is composed of several smaller components, but each follows its own distinct school of political philosophy. On the one hand there is the so-called democratic or conservative group, which numbers among its members many of the professional and educational leaders who were educated in the United States or in American missionary institutions in Korea. In their aims and policies they demonstrate a desire to follow the western democracies, and they almost unanimously desire the early return of Dr. Syngman Rhee and the “Provisional Government” at Chungking.

On the other hand there is the radical or communist group. This apparently is composed of several smaller groups ranging in thought from left of center to radical. The avowed communist group is the most vocal and seems to be supplying the leadership.

There is no agitation whatsoever for the return of the former Korean dynasty, which is generally considered to have sold out to the Japanese.

Conservative. The largest of the conservative elements is the Democratic Party (Ta Han Min Chu Dang), with which are affiliated such organizations as the Christian Fellowship Association, the Women’s National Party and the Korean Patriotic Women’s Association. The stated aims of the party are:

1. The firm establishment of a free and independent Korean national state.

2. The adoption of a form of government which is based on the principles of democracy.

3. The promotion of the happiness and welfare of the toiling majority of the people.

4. The development of Korean national culture as a means of contributing to the advance of world culture.

5. The security of world peace by adherence to the United Nations Charter adopted at San Francisco.

In order to accomplish these aims, the Party has adopted the following policies:

1. Security for all by a certain minimum standard of living.

2. The adoption of a foreign policy of good neighborliness and reciprocity.

3. The freedoms of press, assembly, and religion.

4. Equal opportunity in matters of education and health.

5. The adoption of an economic policy with a view to promoting commerce and industries.

6. State management or control of certain basic industries.

7. The reconstruction of the land-owning system with a view to promoting the happiness of the struggling farmers.

8. The creation of a defense army.

Soon after American troops entered this area, the Korean Democratic Party made the following requests:

1. That all Japanese and Koreans, regardless of organization, be disarmed.

2. That the Democratic Party be permitted to invite the Korean Provisional Government at Chungking to come to Korea, and that the occupation forces authorize and facilitate such a move.

3. That the American occupation forces take the Provisional Government into their confidence and utilize their services as much as possible.

The Democratic Party consists of well educated business and professional men as well as community leaders in various parts of the country. During the war it apparently had an undercover organization with about 1,000 leaders throughout the country. It had a central organization but being prohibited from holding any meetings it perhaps did not then acquire any large popular following.

Soon after August 15 the Democratic Party realized the strength of the more aggressive radical groups and decided to bring together the more conservative democratic elements into what became, on September 13, the National Congress of Korea. The leaders of this organization feel that they represent the great majority of the people, who are stated to have supported and hoped for the success of the exiled Korean Provisional Government for many years. Recently the Congress announced the names of its leaders and the character of its organization in the public press. An analysis thereof will be submitted as soon as sufficient data on the various individuals can be prepared.

Radical. The main strength of the radical groups which are opposed to the Democratic Party and the Congress lies in the organization known as the Korean Provisional Commission (Chosen Keunkook Chumbi Iinkai) which proposes to set up a government known as the Korean Peoples Republic (Chosen Inmin Kongwha Kook). The stated objectives of the organization are as follows:

1. The complete independence of Korea.

2. The establishment of a real democratic government.

3. The radical improvement of the standard of living of the people.

4. The maintenance of public peace in the transition period.

It will be noted that these objectives of the projected Korean Peoples Republic are not as precise as those of the Democratic Party. Nevertheless the radicals appear to be better organized than their Democratic opponents. They were responsible for a number of parades and demonstrations immediately after the American forces arrived, and their publicity material in the press has behind it a definite program and probably trained direction.

The guiding genius of the organization is Yuh Woon Hyung, who was graduated from a missionary school in Seoul and later went to Nanking and Shanghai, where he was regarded as a leader but was not connected with the exiled Provisional Government. He attended the Third Internationale in Moscow in 1926 and has spent various periods in Japanese prisons. The people do not know how to judge him at present, however, because his political beliefs have apparently changed from Christian to communist.

Post-surrender Political Developments. The problem of maintaining law and order after the surrender seemed to appall the Japanese, especially as they at first thought that the whole country would be occupied by the Soviet Russians. They desired to install a government acceptable to the Russians, and asked Song Jin Woo to lead a Korean Provisional Government. After he refused to deal with the Japanese (he now leads the Democratic Party), the Japanese turned to Yuh Woon Hyung, the communist. He accepted, under certain unpalatable conditions which the Japanese were forced to swallow, and formed “The Committee for the Reestablishment of the Korean State.” Many of his former anti-Japanese colleagues, such as Song Jin Woo, suspected the Japanese connection and refused to collaborate, whereupon the communist party, eager for power, stepped in. Yuh Woon Hyung and his adherents considered themselves the government; they released political prisoners, and assumed responsibility for public safety, food distribution and other governmental functions. This was perhaps the peak of power enjoyed by the Committee, which rapidly lost influence because of the disaffection of the more conservative members following the ascendency of the communist elements.

Meanwhile the Japanese learned that the United States was to occupy southern Korea; they also realized that Yuh was not going to follow their dictates. They transformed the Committee into a Public Safety Committee in order to reduce its power, and added three thousand Japanese soldiers to the police force of Seoul by giving them civil status overnight. (This led to considerable trouble with the police after the American occupation.) Yuh, however, was not to be suppressed. He seized on the American privilege of free political endeavor and on September 6 reconstituted his group as a political party with the object of forming a Korean Peoples Republic.

Present Status. There are, accordingly, the two strongly opposed political groups in southern Korea at present. The less aggressive conservatives, claiming the adherence of a majority of the people, were forced to organize for their own protection and in behalf of their anti-communist pro-democratic beliefs. The radicals, led by Yuh who seems to be a political opportunist with communist leanings, are better organized and more vocal; the nature and extent of actual communist (Soviet Russian) infiltration cannot be stated with certainty, but it may be considerable.

A study of the announced aims of the two groups does not bring out any sharp differences in their aspirations for Korea. The conservatives, however, wish to realize their program under the leadership of the Korean Provisional Government at Chungking. Dr. Syngman Rhee has been called by some of them as “the Sun Yat-sen⁸³ of Korea.” On the other hand, the radicals make no reference to the Provisional Government, state their aims with less precision, and are vague as to the manner they will receive aid and guidance in rehabilitating their country. It is interesting to note, however, that the prestige of Dr. Rhee is so great in the country that his name, with no mention of the Provisional Government, was included with those of Kim Koo and Kim Kiu Sic⁸⁴ in a slate for the cabinet of the proposed Korean Peoples Government. The positions reserved for them were to be concurrently held by other and communist members of the cabinet; in other words, they were a façade behind which those now in Seoul could operate.

Politics and the American Occupation. The attitude of the American forces toward these political developments is one of aloofness as long as peace and order is maintained. There seems to be no other policy to adopt, as USAFIK cannot afford to support any one particular group. If Dr. Rhee and others of the Provisional Government return to Korea, the United States may be accused of favoring the conservatives as against the radicals, although a great deal of such criticism could be forestalled by public announcements that any Korean abroad was free to return to his native land regardless of his politics, transportation facilities permitting.

In the meantime, there is little knowledge of the political actions or policies of the Russian occupation forces to the north. They have ejected the Japanese and set up local governments which are strictly on a one-party basis. There is more than a probability that they will sovietize northern Korea as they sovietized eastern Europe. The United States may soon be faced with problems similar to those it faces in Rumania,⁸⁵ Hungary and Bulgaria.⁸⁶ It appears probable that when the situation is clarified, northern Korea will be under communist domination, while southern Korea, under American occupation, will already have a substantial communist following.

Respectfully yours,

H. Merrell Benninghoff

82. Military Intelligence.
83. Provisional President of the Republic of China, January 1, 1912, and regarded as the “father” of the republic.
84. Kimm Kiusic, Vice Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
85. See vol. v, pp. 464 ff.
86. See vol. iv, pp. 798 ff. and 135 ff., respectively.