740.00119 Control (Korea)/8–2446: Telegram
The Political Adviser in Korea (Langdon) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 25—4:38 p.m.]
Tfurc 61 [to Tokyo]. The following brings up to date developments since our Tfurc 60, 2 August.
There have been no further meetings of the Unity Committee since Lyuh asked postponement of the July 29 meeting, as the People’s Front delegates except Lyuh will not attend unless the Rightist Delegation accepts the Front’s five conditions for unity peremptorily laid [Page 730] down under Communist chairman Pak Heun Yung’s dictation, as mentioned in the last report, in an obvious tactic to sabotage the negotiations. On its part, the Rightist delegation, continuing its patience and dignified composure, offered eight counter proposals for unity. The first two proposals more or less agreed with the Front’s condition number 1 relating to united action with the North Korean Government to hasten reconvening of the Joint Commission and establishment of the provisional Government. The other proposals were as follows:
Trusteeship to be discussed with JC after establishment of PG.
Representative Congress to be called after establishment of PG.
A permanent government to be established 3 months after such congress convenes.
Freedoms of speech, assembly, association, press communication, and voting to be guaranteed.
Political, economic, and educational laws to be enacted by the above Congress.
A special court to be set up after establishment of PG to try pro-Japanese and traitors.
Although the Rightist Delegation is being patient the Representative Democratic Council has been restive and some of the members moving to call an end to the unity talks, so much so that General Hodge yesterday intervened indirectly to request continued forbearance and cooperation with Doctor Kim Kiu Sic’s efforts.
Meanwhile the conflict in the Leftist camp between extremists and Kremlin puppets on the one side and moderates and Nationalist Communists on the other side has broken wide open, having been precipitated by Pak’s attempt to consolidate into a single party with himself and another Communist in virtual control the party of the Left (People’s, Communist and Yenan Independence) in blind mimicry of the recent merger in the north of the Communist and New Democratic parties into a “Labor Party”; the first rejection [reaction?] was the denunciation of Pak by six of his colleagues on the CP Central Executive Committee for action without consulting them, and their expulsion from the Party by Pak for indiscipline. Next on the 13 came Lyuh’s resignation as People’s Party and People’s Front chairman and retirement to the country professedly because the Front’s conditions for unity with the Right were passed over his objections and made such unity impossible. Actually Lyuh told us he favored a Leftist merger provided the Communist group purged itself of Pak and agreed to follow the merger’s policies and rules. With Lyuh standing aside, the People’s Party then held a plenary meeting to decide on the merger. After long and bitter debate a vote was held, 48 members voting for and 31, including the presiding officer, against the merger, with 50 abstaining. As a result the minority [Page 731] and chairman walked out and now maintain that they are the People’s Party and that the others are Communists who have simply voted themselves out of it.
The effect of this open split will probably be a smaller but cleansed People’s Party following its own Nationalist lines and a larger and stronger but distinct and isolated Communist Party with perhaps a final divorce between the two and automatic dissolution of the People’s Front. What will happen next with respect to the unity talks is anybody’s guess. Our surmise is that the weakened People’s Party will invite Lyuh back to its chairmanship and that Lyuh will try to reorganize and rebuild it so that it will be representative enough to speak for an important political element when and if unity talks are resumed with the Rightist Delegation. It may be significant that Lyuh met Dr. Kim privately yesterday after a long cessation of their meetings. It is learned at first hand that Lyuh undertook at this meeting to reorganize a moderate Leftist Delegation to carry on the negotiations.
We are engaged in a technical study of ways and means to hold elections for both local bodies and legislative assembly so that elections may be held at an opportune time. It is becoming evident that because of high illiteracy and lack of any political training elections of a national scope, as we understand them, are not feasible and that such elections will of necessity have to be conducted by electors elected in smaller constituencies. Hodge concurs.