[Enclosure]
President Rhee to President Truman
Seoul, September 1,
1948.
My Dear Mr. President: I have taken
great pleasure in the receipt of your message, delivered by your
Special Representative, Ambassador
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Muccio, on August 31, conveying your
congratulations on the progress of Korea towards the attainment
of independence, and extending your best wishes to the President
of the Republic of Korea. I wish again to express my
appreciation of the action taken by the Government of the United
States of America in declaring that the Government of the
Republic of Korea is regarded as the Government envisaged by the
United Nations General Assembly Resolutions of November 14,
1947. Now by force of circumstance, which I am sure you well
understand, I am compelled to make an appeal on behalf of my
people to the Government of the United States of America for
continuance of the aid and assistance which the American people
have generously accorded during the past three years in order
the [that] the Government of the Republic
of Korea may carry on the previously inaugurated program of
economic rehabilitation and security.
The termination of the war with Japan crippled the Korean economy
by completely disrupting previous trade relationships, by
separating the country into two zones, thus depriving South
Korea of the benefits of power and forest resources as well as
the products of the well-developed chemical and power industries
of North Korea, and by creating political uncertainty which
prevented normal capital investment, thus leading to
deterioration of capital installations. In addition to these
factors the monopoly of technical skills by the Japanese over a
forty-year period has placed upon the Government of the Republic
of Korea the urgent necessity of training large numbers of
technicians as rapidly as possible.
Furthermore, we now have in South Korea, in addition to the
normal increase in population, between three and four million
Korean refugees who were returned, by the United States
Government, to their homeland at the end of the recent war; more
than two million of whom fled from North Korea seeking sanctuary
in the South and who have been dependent upon this
Government.
As a result of the aforementioned developments, we face serious
problems of rehabilitating our economy in order to free Korea as
quickly as possible from dependence upon foreign aid, and in
order to establish a firm foundation of national security. These
problems cannot be solved by the resources presently at our
disposal without outside assistance.
I appeal, therefore, to the United States of America for
financial and economic assistance along the following lines:
Economic aid which will enable the Government of the
Republic of Korea to acquire commodities and machines
which are vital to the subsistence and economic activity
of the Korean people.
Assistance to obtain supplies and equipment required by
the Government of the Republic of Korea for maintaining
law, order and internal security.
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Assistance to initiate and carry forward the
reconstruction of those basic industries essential to
permit Korea to strengthen its internal economy and to
develop foreign trade.
The continued inclusion of Korea in the International
Emergency Food Committee food allocation program.
If the Government of the United States of America should find
that it is able and willing to provide assistance to the
Government of the Republic of Korea, this Government proposes
that representatives of the two governments meet at the earliest
possible moment for the purpose of signing an agreement which
will set forth in detail the terms under which aid to Korea will
be extended, and which will be in consonance with the principles
under which foreign aid is extended by the United States of
America.
It is the sincere hope of the Government of the Republic of Korea
that the Government of the United States of America will
continue to assist Korea in this critical period.
Accept [etc.]
