View source for Syngman Rhee

{{Short description|President of South Korea from 1948 to 1960}}
{{About|the first president of South Korea|the Presbyterian minister|Syngman Rhee (clergyman)}}
{{Family name hatnote|[[Lee (Korean surname)|Rhee]]||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[His Excellency]]
| name                = Syngman Rhee
| native_name         = {{nobold|이승만}}
| native_name_lang    = 
| image               = Rhee Syng-Man in 1948.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1948
| office              = President of South Korea
| primeminister       = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|''See list''}}
| [[Lee Beom-seok (prime minister)|Lee Beom-seok]]
| [[Shin Song-mo]] (acting)
| [[Chang Myon]]
| [[Ho Chong]] (acting)
| [[Yi Yun-yong]] (acting)
| [[Chang Taek-sang]]
| [[Paik Too-chin]]
| [[Pyon Yong-tae]]
| Baek Han-seong (acting)
| [[Ho Chong]] (acting)
}}
| vicepresident       = {{plainlist|
* [[Yi Si-yeong]]
* [[Kim Seong-su]]
* [[Ham Tae-young]]
* [[Chang Myon]]
}}
| term_start          = 24 July 1948
| term_end            = 27 April 1960
| predecessor         = ''Office established''
| successor           = [[Ho Chong]] (acting)<br>[[Yun Po-sun]]
| office4             = President of the [[Korean Provisional Government]]
| term_start4         = 11 September 1919
| term_end4           = 23 March 1925
| predecessor4        = ''Office established''
| successor4          = [[Pak Ŭnsik]]
| primeminister4      = {{plainlist|
* [[Yi Tonghwi]]
* [[Yi Tongnyŏng]]
* [[Sin Kyusik]]
* [[No Paengnin]]
* [[Pak Ŭnsik]]
}}
| office3             = President of the [[People's Republic of Korea]]
| term_start3         = 6 September 1945
| term_end3           = 19 February 1946
| predecessor3        = ''Office established''
| successor3          = ''Office abolished''
| vicepresident3      = [[Lyuh Woon-hyung]]
| office2             = Chairman of the State Council of the [[Korean Provisional Government]]
| term_start2         = 3 March 1947
| term_end2           = 15 August 1948
| predecessor2        = [[Kim Ku]]
| successor2          = ''Office abolished''
| deputy2             = Kim Ku
| office1             = 1st [[Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea|Speaker of the National Assembly]]
| term_start1         = 31 May 1948
| term_end1           = 24 July 1948
| 1blankname1         = [[Speaker of the National Assembly (South Korea)#List of deputy speakers|Deputy]]
| 1namedata1          = [[Sin Ik-hui]]
| predecessor1        = ''Office established''{{efn|[[Kim Kyu-sik]] as Chairman of the Interim Legislative Assembly}}
| successor1          = [[Sin Ik-hui]]
| birth_name          = Rhee Syng-man
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=yes|1875|3|26}}
| birth_place         = [[Pyongsan County]], [[Hwanghae Province|Hwanghae]], [[Joseon]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1965|7|19|1875|3|26}}
| death_place         = [[Honolulu]], Hawaii, United States
| restingplace        = [[Seoul National Cemetery]]
| citizenship         = {{plainlist|
* [[Korean Empire|Korea]] (until 1910)
* [[Statelessness|Stateless]] (1910&ndash;1948)
* South Korea (1948&ndash;1965)
}}
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Seungseon Park|1891|1909|end=divorced}}
* {{Marriage|[[Franziska Donner]]|1934}}
}}
| party               = [[Liberal Party (South Korea)|Liberal]] (1951–1961)
| otherparty          = [[National Association (South Korea)|National Association]]<br>(1946–1951)<br/>[[People's Joint Association]] (1897–1899)
| signature           = Syngman Rhee Signature.svg
| alma_mater          = {{plainlist|
* [[George Washington University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
* [[Harvard University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
* [[Princeton University]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
}}
| module              = {{Infobox Korean name/auto
| hangul = %이승만
| hanja  = 李承晩
| hangulho       = %_우남
| hanjaho        = 雩南
| child  = yes}}
| module2             = {{Listen voice
| filename        = Syngman Rhee discusses with the U.S Congress about the Korean War.ogg
| description     = Rhee on the [[Korean War]]
| recorded        = 28 July 1954
}}
| order               = 1st
}}
{{Korean nationalism|Politicians}}
'''Syngman Rhee''' ({{Korean/auto|hangul=이승만|hanja=李承晚|ko_ipa=iː.sɯŋ.man|ko_iparef={{efn|See {{slink|North–South differences in the Korean language|Consonants}}.}}}}; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his [[art name]] '''Unam''' ({{Korean|hangul=우남|hanja=雩南|labels=no}}),<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |script-title=ko:이승만 (李承晩) |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0044938 |access-date=5 April 2023 |website=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]}}</ref> was a South Korean politician who served as the first [[president of South Korea]] from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]] from 1919 to his [[impeachment]] in 1925 and from 1947 to 1948. He was also the president of the [[People's Republic of Korea]] in the established cabinet. As president of South Korea, [[First Republic of Korea|Rhee's government]] was characterised by [[authoritarianism]], limited [[economic development]], and in the late 1950s growing [[political instability]] and [[public opposition]] to his rule.

Born in [[Hwanghae Province]], Joseon, Rhee attended an American [[Methodist]] school, where he [[converted to Christianity]]. He became a [[Korean independence movement|Korean independence activist]] and was imprisoned for his activities in 1899. After his release in 1904, he moved to the United States, where he obtained degrees from American universities and [[Treaty of Portsmouth#Portsmouth Peace Conference|met]] Presidents [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Woodrow Wilson]]. After a brief 1910–12 return to Korea, he moved to [[Territory of Hawaii|Hawaii]] in 1913. In 1919, following the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] suppression of the [[March First Movement]], Rhee joined the right-leaning Korean Provisional Government in exile in Shanghai. From 1918 to 1924, he served as the first [[List of presidents of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea|President of the Korean Provisional Government]] until he was impeached in 1925. He then returned to the United States, where he advocated and fundraised for Korean independence. In 1939, he moved to Washington, DC. In 1945, he was returned to [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|US-controlled Korea]] by the US military. [[1948 South Korean presidential election|On July 20, 1948]], he was elected the first president of the Republic of Korea by the [[Constituent National Assembly (South Korea)|National Assembly]], ushering in the First Republic of Korea.

As president, Rhee continued his hardline [[anti-communist]] and [[pro-American]] views that characterized much of his earlier political career. Rhee was president during the outbreak of the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953), in which North Korea invaded South Korea. He refused to sign [[Korean Armistice Agreement|the armistice agreement]] that ended the war, wishing to have the peninsula reunited by force.<ref name="Ashgate Publishing, Ltd">{{Cite book|last1=Kollontai|first1=Ms Pauline|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhAEmcLqrA8C&pg=PA111|title=Peace and Reconciliation: In Search of Shared Identity|last2=Kim|first2=Professor Sebastian C. H.|last3=Hoyland|first3=Revd Greg|date=2 May 2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-7798-3|pages=111|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Cha 2010, p. 174">Cha (2010), p. 174</ref>

After the fighting ended, South Korea's economy lagged behind North Korea's and was heavily reliant on US aid, despite successful efforts to battle illiteracy. After being [[1956 South Korean presidential election|re-elected in 1956]], he pushed to modify the constitution to remove the two-term limit, despite opposition protests. He was reelected uncontested [[March 1960 South Korean presidential election|in March 1960]], after his opponent [[Chough Pyung-ok]] died from cancer before the election took place. After Rhee's ally [[Lee Ki-poong]] won the corresponding vice-presidential election by a wide margin, the opposition rejected the result as rigged, which triggered protests. These escalated into the student-led [[April Revolution]], in which police shot demonstrators in [[Masan]]. The resulting scandal caused Rhee to resign on 26 April, ushering in the [[Second Republic of Korea]]. Following his resignation, he spent a month at the residence [[Ihwajang]] and departed for exile in Hawaii by plane on 29 May.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Ki-Boem |title=Dr. Syngman Rhee's Life in Hawaii: In Search of Forgotten Memories|date=2020 |newspaper=[[Kyunghyang Shinmun]]|url=https://www.khan.co.kr/article/202008070001001/amp}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=dong-woo |title=As his longing for his homeland deepened, his beloved dog 'Happy' stayed by his side.|date=2025 |newspaper=[[The Financial News]]|url=https://www.fnnews.com/news/202501071858287652#_PA}}</ref> However, according to Rhee, he went to Hawaii for medical treatment. Rhee claimed that he was never in exile &ndash; he simply was not able to return to his homeland.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=dong-woo |title=He never went into exile; he simply couldn't return to his homeland|date=2025 |newspaper=[[The Financial News]]|url=https://www.fnnews.com/news/202501011912031027}}</ref> He spent the rest of his life in exile in [[Honolulu]], Hawaii, and died of a stroke in 1965.

== Early life and career ==
=== Early life ===
Syngman Rhee was born on 26 March 1875 in Daegyeong, a village in [[Pyongsan County|Pyeongsan County]], [[Hwanghae Province]], [[Joseon]].<ref name="Doopedia">{{cite web |url=http://www.doopedia.co.kr/doopedia/master/master.do?_method=view&MAS_IDX=101013000746262 |script-title=ko:이승만 [李承晩] |publisher=[[Doosan Corporation]] |work=[[Doopedia]] |access-date=12 March 2014 |language=ko |trans-title=Rhee Syngman}}</ref><ref name="Brit">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/501064/Syngman-Rhee |title=Syngman Rhee |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=13 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="CNNfyi">{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Syngman.Rhee/frameset.exclude.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140314010752/http://edition.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Syngman.Rhee/frameset.exclude.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 March 2014 |title=Syngman Rhee: First president of South Korea |publisher=CNN |work=CNN Student News |access-date=13 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="Cold War Files">{{cite web |url=http://legacy.wilsoncenter.org/coldwarfiles/index-33794.html |title=Syngman Rhee |publisher=Cold War International History Project |work=The Cold War Files |access-date=13 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140314010713/http://legacy.wilsoncenter.org/coldwarfiles/index-33794.html |archive-date=14 March 2014 }}</ref> Rhee was the third but only surviving son out of three brothers and two sisters (his two older brothers both died in infancy) in a rural family of modest means.<ref name="Doopedia" /> Rhee's family traced its lineage back to King [[Taejong of Joseon]]. He was a 16th-generation descendant of [[Grand Prince Yangnyeong]] through his second son, Yi Heun who was known as Jangpyeong Dojeong (장평도정;長平都正).<ref name="IEKAS">{{Cite journal |last=Cha |first=Marn J. |title=Syngman Rhee's First Love  |journal=The Information Exchange for Korean-American Scholars (IEKAS) |issue=12–19 |page=2 |date=19 September 2012 |orig-year=1996 |url=http://www.phy.duke.edu/~myhan/kaf1204.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314030738/http://www.phy.duke.edu/~myhan/kaf1204.pdf |archive-date=14 March 2014 |url-status=live |issn=1092-6232 |access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> This case makes him a distant relative of the mid-Joseon military officer [[Yi Sun-sin (born 1554)|Yi Sun-sin]] (not be confused with Admiral [[Yi Sun-sin]]). His mother was a member of [[Gimhae Kim clan]].

In 1877, at the age of two, Rhee and his family moved to [[Seoul]], where he had traditional [[Confucianism|Confucian]] education in various ''[[seodang]]'' in Nakdong ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=낙동 |hanja=駱洞}}) and Dodong ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=도동 |hanja=桃洞}}).<ref name="EncyKorea">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Index?contents_id=E0044938 |script-title=ko:이승만 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |access-date=13 March 2014 |language=ko |trans-title=Rhee Syngman}}</ref> When Rhee was six years old a [[smallpox]] infection rendered him virtually blind until he was treated with western medicine, possibly by a Japanese doctor.<ref>It is sometimes erroneously claimed that Rhee was treated by American medical missionary Horace Allen. For a discussion of this topic see, Fields, ''Foreign Friends'', p. 17–19</ref> Rhee was portrayed as a potential candidate for the ''[[gwageo]]'', the traditional Korean [[civil service examination]], but in 1894 reforms abolished the ''gwageo'' system, and in April he enrolled in the {{ill|Paechae School|ko|배재학당}}, an American [[Methodist]] school, where he converted to Christianity.<ref name="Doopedia" /><ref name="CNNfyi" /><ref name="Cold War Files" /><ref name="Korea Times" /> Rhee studied English and ''sinhakmun'' ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=신학문 |hanja=新學問 |lit=new subjects}}). Near the end of 1895, he joined a Hyeopseong (Mutual Friendship) Club ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=협성회 |hanja=協成會}}) created by [[Philip Jaisohn]], who returned from the United States after his exile following the [[Kapsin Coup]]. He worked as the head and the main writer of the newspapers ''{{Ill|Hyŏpsŏnghoe hoebo|ko|협성회회보}}'' and ''{{ill|Maeil sinmun (Korean Empire)|lt=Maeil sinmun|ko|매일신문 (대한제국)}}'',<ref name="EncyKorea" /> the latter being the first daily newspaper in Korea.<ref name="Korea Times">{{cite news |last=Breen |first=Michael |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/01/113_64364.html |title=Fall of Korea's First President Syngman Rhee in 1960 |work=[[The Korea Times]] |date=18 April 2010 |access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> During this period, Rhee earned money by teaching the Korean language to Americans. In 1895, Rhee graduated from Pai Chai School.<ref name="Doopedia" />

=== Independence activities ===
Rhee became involved in [[Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea|anti-Japanese]] circles after the end of the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] in 1895, which saw Joseon passed from the [[Qing dynasty|Chinese]] [[sphere of influence]] to the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]]. Rhee was implicated in a plot to take revenge for the [[assassination of Empress Myeongseong]], the wife of [[Gojong of the Korean Empire|King Gojong]] who was assassinated by Japanese agents (known in Korean history as the {{ill|Chunsaengmun incident|ko|춘생문 사건}}); however, a female American physician Georgiana E. Whiting helped him avoid the charges by disguising him as her patient and go to his sister's house. Rhee acted as one of the forerunners of the [[Korean independence movement]] through grassroots organizations such as the Hyeopseong Club and the [[Independence Club]]. Rhee organized several protests against corruption and the influences of the Japan and the [[Russian Empire]].<ref name="Korea Times" /> As a result, in November 1898, Rhee attained the rank of ''Uigwan'' ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=의관 |hanja=議官}}) in the Imperial Legislature, the Jungchuwon ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=중추원 |hanja=中樞院}}).<ref name="EncyKorea" />

After entering civil service, Rhee was implicated in a plot to remove King Gojong from power through the recruitment of [[Pak Yŏnghyo]]. As a result, Rhee was imprisoned in the Gyeongmucheong Prison ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=경무청 |hanja=警務廳}}) in January 1899.<ref name="EncyKorea"/> Other sources place the year arrested as 1897 and 1898.<ref name="Doopedia" /><ref name="CNNfyi" /><ref name="Cold War Files" /><ref name="Korea Times" /> Rhee attempted to escape on the 20th day of imprisonment but was caught and was sentenced to life imprisonment through the Pyeongniwon ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=평리원 |hanja=平理院}}). He was imprisoned in the Hanseong Prison ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=한성감옥서 |hanja=漢城監獄署}}). In prison, Rhee translated and compiled ''The Sino–Japanese War Record'' ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=청일전기 |hanja=淸日戰紀}}), wrote ''The Spirit of Independence'' ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=독립정신 |hanja=獨立精神}}), compiled the ''New English–Korean Dictionary'' ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=신영한사전 |hanja=新英韓辭典}}) and wrote in the ''Imperial Newspaper'' ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=제국신문 |hanja=帝國新聞}}).<ref name="EncyKorea" /> He was also [[torture]]d.<ref name="Korea Times" />  Examples of this included Japanese officers lighting oil paper which were pushed up his fingernails, and then smashing them one-by-one.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDbXpiJMFdIC&pg=PT326 |title=This Kind of War (Pages 167-168)   |author=[[T. R. Fehrenbach]]|date=2000 |publisher=Potomac Books |isbn=978-1-59797-878-1 }}</ref>

=== Political activities at home and abroad ===
[[File:Dr. Syngman Rhee, Com'l. LCCN2016875712.jpg|thumb|Rhee's [[Library of Congress]] print, 1939]]
In 1904, Rhee was released from prison at the outbreak of the [[Russo-Japanese War]] with the help of [[Min Young-hwan]].<ref name="Doopedia" /> In November 1904, with the help of Min Yeong-hwan and Han Gyu-seol ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=한규설 |hanja=韓圭卨}}), Rhee moved to the United States. In August 1905, Rhee and Yun Byeong-gu ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=윤병구 |hanja=尹炳求}})<ref name="EncyKorea" /> met with US President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] at [[Treaty of Portsmouth#Portsmouth Peace Conference|peace talks]] in [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]] and attempted unsuccessfully to convince the US to help preserve independence for Korea.<ref>{{cite book |author=Yu Yeong-ik ({{lang|ko|유영익}}) |script-title=ko:이승만의 삶과 꿈 |year=1996 |publisher=[[JoongAng Ilbo]] Press |location=Seoul |isbn=89-461-0345-0 |pages=40–44 |language=ko |trans-title=Rhee Syngman's Life and Dream}}</ref>

Rhee continued to stay in the United States; this move has been described as an "exile".<ref name="Korea Times" /> He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from [[George Washington University]] in 1907, and a Master of Arts from [[Harvard University]] in 1908.<ref name="Doopedia" /><ref name="IEKAS" /> In 1910,<ref name="Doopedia" /> he obtained a PhD from [[Princeton University]]<ref name="CNNfyi" /><ref name="Cold War Files" /> with the thesis "Neutrality as influenced by the United States" ({{Korean|hangul=미국의 영향하에 발달된 국제법상 중립|labels=no}}).<ref name="EncyKorea" />

In August 1910, Rhee returned to [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese-occupied Korea]].<ref name="EncyKorea" />{{efn|In 1910, the [[Korean Peninsula]] was officially annexed by the Empire of Japan.}} He served as a [[YMCA]] coordinator and missionary.<ref name="coppa-256">{{Cite book|editor=Coppa, Frank J.|chapter=Rhee, Syngman|title=Encyclopedia of modern dictators: from Napoleon to the present|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8204-5010-0|page=256|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gTv99LBYSL4C&pg=PA256}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Jessup, John E.|chapter=Rhee, Syngman|title=An encyclopedic dictionary of conflict and conflict resolution, 1945–1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1998|isbn=978-0-313-28112-9|page=626|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hP7jJAkTd9MC&pg=PA626}}</ref> In 1912, Rhee was implicated in the [[105-Man Incident]],<ref name="EncyKorea" /> and was shortly arrested.<ref name="Doopedia" /> However, he fled to the United States in 1912<ref name="CNNfyi" /> with M. C. Harris's rationale that Rhee was going to participate in the general meeting of Methodists in [[Minneapolis]] as the Korean representative.<ref name="EncyKorea" />{{efn|He did participate in the meeting as the Korean representative.}}

In the United States, Rhee attempted to convince [[Woodrow Wilson]] to help the people involved in the 105-Man Incident, but failed to bring any change. Soon afterwards, he met [[Park Yong-man]], who was in Nebraska at the time. In February 1913, as a consequence of the meeting, he moved to [[Honolulu]], Hawaii, and took over the Han-in Jung-ang Academy ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=한인중앙학원 |hanja=韓人中央學園}}).<ref name="EncyKorea" /> In Hawaii, he began to publish the ''Pacific Ocean Magazine'' ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=태평양잡지 |hanja=太平洋雜誌}}).<ref name="Doopedia" /> In 1918, he established the Han-in Christian Church ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=한인기독교회 |hanja=韓人基督敎會}}). During this period, he opposed Park Yong-man's stance on foreign relations of Korea and brought about a split in the community.<ref name="EncyKorea" /> In December 1918, he was chosen, along with Dr. Henry Chung DeYoung, as a Korean representative to the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference in 1919]] by the [[Korean National Association]] but they failed to obtain permission to travel to Paris. After giving up travelling to Paris, Rhee held the [[First Korean Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]] with [[Philip Jaisohn|Seo Jae-pil]] to make plans for future political activism concerning Korean independence.<ref name="EncyKorea" />

Following the [[March First Movement]] in March 1919, Rhee discovered that he was appointed to the positions of foreign minister for the {{ill|Korean National Assembly (Vladivostok)|lt=Korean National Assembly|ko|대한국민의회}} (a group in [[Vladivostok]]), prime minister for the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]] in Shanghai, and a position equivalent to president for the {{ill|Hanseong Provisional Government|ko|한성정부}}. In June, in the acting capacity of the President of the Republic of Korea, he notified the prime ministers and the chairmen of peace conferences of Korea's independence. On 25 August, Rhee established the Korean Commission to America and Europe ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=구미위원부 |hanja=歐美委員部}}) in Washington, DC. On 6 September, Rhee discovered that he had been appointed acting president for the Provisional Government in Shanghai.<ref name="CNNfyi" /><ref name="Cold War Files" /> From December 1920 to May 1921, he moved to Shanghai and was the acting president for the Provisional Government.<ref name="EncyKorea" />

However, Rhee failed to efficiently act in the capacity of Acting President due to conflicts inside the provisional government in Shanghai. In October 1920, he returned to the US to participate in the [[Washington Naval Conference]]. During the conference, he attempted to set the problem of Korean independence as part of the agenda and campaigned for independence but was unsuccessful.<ref name="Doopedia" /><ref name="EncyKorea" /> In September 1922, he returned to Hawaii to focus on publication, education, and religion. In November 1924, Rhee was appointed the position of [[president for life]] in the Korean Comrade Society ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=대한인동지회 |hanja=大韓人同志會}}).<ref name="EncyKorea" />

In March 1925, Rhee was impeached as the president of the Provisional Government in Shanghai over allegations of misuse of power<ref name="KoreaTimes 13">{{cite news |last=Breen |first=Michael |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/issues/2014/03/363_97887.html |title=(13) Syngman Rhee: president who could have done more |date=2 November 2011 |access-date=7 April 2014 |work=[[The Korea Times]]}}</ref> and was removed from office. Nevertheless, he continued to claim the position of president by referring to the Hanseong Provisional Government and continued independence activities through the Korean Commission to America and Europe. In the beginning of 1933, he participated in the [[League of Nations]] conference in [[Geneva]] to bring up the question of Korean independence.<ref name="EncyKorea" />

In November 1939, Rhee and his wife left Hawaii for Washington, DC.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=O'Toole|first1=George Barry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2TVAAAAMAAJ&q=%22november+1939%22+|title=The China Monthly|last2=Tsʻai|first2=Jên-yü|date=1939|publisher=China Monthly, Incorporated|pages=12|language=en}}</ref> He focused on writing the book ''Japan Inside Out'' and published it during the summer of 1941. With the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] and the consequent [[Pacific War]], which began in December 1941, Rhee used his position as the chairman of the foreign relations department of the provisional government in [[Chongqing]] to convince President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and the [[United States Department of State]] to approve the existence of the Korean provisional government. As part of this plan, he cooperated with anti-Japan strategies conducted by the US [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS). In 1945, he participated in the [[United Nations Conference on International Organization]] as the leader of the Korean representatives to request the participation of the Korean provisional government.<ref name="EncyKorea" />

<gallery widths="160px" heights="200px">
File:1905-Syngman Rhee.jpg|Rhee in 1905 dressed to meet [[Theodore Roosevelt]]
File:RheeKim.jpg|Rhee and Vice President of the [[Korean Provisional Government]] [[Kim Kyu-sik]] in 1919
</gallery>

==Presidency (1948–1960)==
{{Infobox administration|image=RheeSyngman 1945's.jpg|name=Presidency of Syngman Rhee|term_start=24 July 1948|term_end=27 April 1960|cabinet=''[[Cabinet of Syngman Rhee|Full list]]''|party=[[National Association (South Korea)|National Association]] (1948–1951)<br />[[Liberal Party (South Korea)|Liberal]] (1951–1960)|seat=[[Seoul]]|predecessor=|successor=|president_link=President of South Korea|premier_link=Prime Minister of South Korea|premier=[[Lee Beom-seok (prime minister)|Lee Beom-seok]]<br />[[Shin Song-mo]] (acting)<br />[[Chang Myon]]<br />[[Ho Chong]] (acting)<br />[[Yi Yun-yong]] (acting)<br />[[Chang Taek-sang]]<br />[[Paik Too-chin]]<br />[[Pyon Yong-tae]]<br />Baek Han-seong (acting)<br />Ho Chong|seal=Seal of the President of the Republic of Korea.svg|vicepresident_link=Vice President of South Korea|vicepresident=[[Yi Si-yeong]]<br />[[Kim Seong-su]]<br />[[Ham Tae-young]]<br />[[Chang Myon]]|term_start1=July 24, 1948|term_end1=August 15, 1948|term_start2=August 15, 1948|term_end2=April 27, 1960|election1=[[1948 South Korean presidential election|1948]]|election2={{hlist|[[1952 South Korean presidential election|1952]]|[[1956 South Korean presidential election|1956]]|[[March 1960 South Korean presidential election|March 1960]]}}|constituency2=[[First Republic of Korea|First Republic]]|constituency1=[[United States Army Military Government in Korea|USAMGIK]]|successor2=[[Yun Po-sun#Presidency (1960–62)|Yun Po-sun]]}}[[File:Syngman Rhee and Douglas MacArthur.jpg|thumb|right|Rhee and American general [[Douglas MacArthur]] at the ceremony inaugurating the government of South Korea]]
[[File:Ceremony inaugurating the government of the Republic of Korea02.jpg|thumb|right|Ceremony inaugurating the government of the Republic of Korea (15 August 1948) at the [[Government-General of Chōsen Building|Governor-General Building]] in Seoul.]]
{{Conservatism in South Korea|Politicians}}

===Return to Korea and rise to power===
{{Main|First Republic of Korea}}

After the [[surrender of Japan]] on 2 September 1945,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-surrenders |title=Japan surrenders |publisher=[[A+E Networks]] |work=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|History]] |access-date=7 April 2014}}</ref> Rhee was flown to Tokyo aboard a US military aircraft.<ref name="Bruce">{{cite book|last=Cumings |first=Bruce |chapter=38 degrees of separation: a forgotten occupation|title=The Korean War: a History|publisher=Modern Library|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8129-7896-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/koreanwarhistory0000cumi/page/106 106]|url=https://archive.org/details/koreanwarhistory0000cumi|url-access=registration }}</ref> Over the objections of the Department of State, the US military government allowed Rhee to return to Korea by providing him with a passport in October 1945, despite the refusal of the Department of State to issue Rhee with a passport.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Korean War|last=Hastings|first=Max|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1988|isbn=9780671668341|pages=[https://archive.org/details/koreanwar00hast_0/page/32 32–34]|ref=Hastings 1988|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/koreanwar00hast_0/page/32}}</ref> The British historian [[Max Hastings]] wrote that there was "at least a measure of corruption in the transaction" as the OSS agent [[Millard Preston Goodfellow|Preston Goodfellow]] who provided Rhee with the passport that allowed him to return to Korea was apparently promised by Rhee that if he came to power, he would reward Goodfellow with commercial concessions."<ref name=":0" /> Following the independence of Korea and a secret meeting with [[Douglas MacArthur]], Rhee was flown in mid-October 1945 to Seoul aboard MacArthur's personal airplane, ''The Bataan''.<ref name="Bruce" />

After the return to Korea, he assumed the posts of president of the Independence Promotion Central Committee ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=독립촉성중앙위원회 |hanja=獨立促成中央協議會}}), chairman of the [[Representative Democratic Council|Korean People's Representative Democratic Legislature]], and president of the Headquarters for Unification ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=민족통일총본부 |hanja=民族統一總本部}}). At this point, he was strongly [[anti-communism|anti-communist]] and opposed foreign intervention; he opposed the Soviet Union and the United States' proposal in the [[Moscow Conference (1945)|1945 Moscow Conference]] to establish a trusteeship for Korea. He clashed with the [[Communist Party of Korea|Communist Party]], which supported the trusteeship of the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Korea| last = Bluth | first = Christoph | year = 2008| publisher = Polity Press| location = Cambridge| isbn = 978-07456-3357-2 |page=12}}</ref> He also refused to join the US-Soviet Joint Commission ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=미소공동위원회 |hanja=美蘇共同委員會}}) as well as the negotiations with the north.<ref name="EncyKorea" />
 
For decades, the Korean independence movement was torn by factionalism and in-fighting, and most of the leaders of the independence movement hated each other as much as they hated the Japanese. Rhee, who had lived for decades in the United States, was a well-known figure in Korea, and therefore regarded as a more or less acceptable compromise candidate for the conservative factions. Syngman Rhee was such a prominent figure in the Korean independence movement. He was not only endorsed as a leader of Korea by [[Kim Ku]] and [[Lyuh Woon-hyung]], but was even supported by [[Pak Hon-yong]], the head of the Korean Communist Party.<ref>{{citation |last1=Jeon |first1=Bong-gwan |title=Why did the Communist Party of Korea nominate Syngman Rhee as the President of the People's Republic? |date=2023 |publisher=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|url=https://www.chosun.com/national/weekend/2023/09/02/34D2PAOAKVGARNCH7VGCDKKZVI/}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Yoon |first1=Sang-hyun |title=The Theory of Provisional Government's Legitimacy|date=2011 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]|url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0073449}}</ref> He was nominated as the president of both the [[People's Republic of Korea]] and the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]].<ref>{{citation |last1=Yoon |first1=Sang-hyun |title=People's Republic of Korea|date=2011 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]|url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0052184}}</ref><ref>{{citation  |title=National Assembly elects Syngman Rhee as President of the Provisional Government, Kim Ku as Vice President, and by-elects members of the State Council |journal=[[The Chosun Ilbo]], [[The Dong-A Ilbo]]|date=3 March 1947 |publisher=자료대한민국사 |url=https://db.history.go.kr/id/dh_004_1947_03_03_0040}}</ref> More importantly, Rhee spoke fluent English, whereas none of his rivals did, and therefore he was the Korean politician most trusted and favored by the [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|American occupation government]]. The British diplomat [[Roger Makins, 1st Baron Sherfield|Roger Makins]] later recalled, "the American propensity to go for a man rather than a movement — [[Henri Giraud|Giraud]] among the French in 1942, [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in China. Americans have always liked the idea of dealing with a foreign leader who can be identified as 'their man'. They are much less comfortable with movements." Makins further added the same was the case with Rhee, as very few Americans were fluent in Korean in the 1940s or knew much about Korea, and it was simply far easier for the American occupation government to deal with Rhee than to try to understand Korea. Rhee was "acerbic, prickly, uncompromising" and was regarded by the US State Department, which long had dealings with him as "a dangerous mischief-maker", but the American General [[John R. Hodge]] decided that Rhee was the best man for the Americans{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} to back because of his fluent English and his ability to talk with authority to American officers about American subjects. Once it became clear from October 1945 onward that Rhee was the Korean politician most favored by the Koreans,<ref>{{citation  |title=Who is the best leader? (November 1945) |date=1995 |publisher=[[JoongAng Ilbo]]|url=https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/3040890}}</ref><ref>{{citation  |title=Two Types of Korean Nationalism: Syngman Rhee and Kim Ku|date=2010 |publisher=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|url=http://monthly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?nNewsNumb=201011100056}}</ref> other conservative leaders fell in behind him.

[[File:Kim and rhee meeting with Hodge.webp|thumb|Syngman Rhee and Kim Ku, leaders of the anti-trusteeship movement, meet with General Hodge to discuss the trusteeship.]]
The U.S. government, wary of anti-communist figures like Syngman Rhee and [[Kim Ku]], supported moderates such as [[Kim Kyu-sik]] and [[Lyuh Woon-hyung]].<ref>{{citation |last1=Kim |first1=Jong-sung |title=After a petty quarrel with an American, the weapon Syngman Rhee pulled out: the conflict and cooperation between Rhee and Hodge. |date=2020 |publisher=[[OhmyNews]]|url=https://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/Series/series_premium_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002685010}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=See reliable sources list on [[WP:KO/RS]]|date=May 2025}}<ref>{{citation |last1=Jung |first1=Yong-wook |title=Hodge and Rhee had a heated argument over issues such as left-right cooperation.|date=2019 |publisher=[[The Hankyoreh]]|url=https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/religion/906092.html#cb}}</ref> Syngman Rhee led the anti-trusteeship movement against both the U.S. and the Soviet Union, leading to conflict with the [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|U.S. military government]].<ref>{{citation |last1=Park |first1=Myung-soo |title=The Second Anti-trusteeship Campaign and Korean Political Landscapes in Early 1947 |journal=kci |date=2017 |volume=74 |pages=65–93 |publisher=[[Korea Citation Index]] |url=https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002297403}}</ref> When the first US–Soviet Cooperation Committee meeting was concluded without a result, he began to argue in June 1946 that the government of Korea must be established as an independent entity.<ref name="EncyKorea" /> In the same month, he created a plan based on this idea<ref name="Doopedia" /> and moved to Washington, DC, from December 1946 to April 1947 to lobby support for the plan. During the visit, [[Harry S. Truman]]'s policies of [[Containment]] and the [[Truman Doctrine]], which was announced in March 1947, enforced Rhee's anti-communist ideas.<ref name="EncyKorea" />

In November 1947, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] recognized Korea's independence and established the [[United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea]] (UNTCOK) through Resolution 112.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=United Nations General Assembly Resolution 112}}</ref><ref name="CMP">{{cite web |url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/od-bdo/di-ri-eng.asp?IntlOpId=266&CdnOpId=314 |title=Details/Information for Canadian Forces (CF) Operation United Nations Commission on Korea |publisher=Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces |date=28 November 2008 |access-date=8 April 2014 |archive-date=4 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304001116/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/od-bdo/di-ri-eng.asp?IntlOpId=266&CdnOpId=314 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In May 1948, the [[1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election|South Korean Constitutional Assembly election]] was held under the oversight of the UNTCOK.<ref name="EncyKorea" /> He was elected without competition to serve in the [[South Korean Constituent Assembly]] ({{Korean|labels=no |hangul=대한민국 제헌국회 |hanja=大韓民國制憲國會}}) and was consequently selected to be Speaker of the Assembly. Rhee was highly influential in creating the policy stating that the [[president of South Korea]] had to be elected by the National Assembly.<ref name="Doopedia" /> The 1948 [[Constitution of the Republic of Korea]] was adopted on 17 July 1948.<ref name="UCA">{{cite web |url=http://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/south-korea-1948-present/ |title=South Korea (1948–present) |publisher=[[University of Central Arkansas]] |work=Dynamic Analysis of Dispute Management Project |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Korea Dignitaries.jpg|thumb|Rhee with [[President of the Republic of China]] [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in 1949]]
On 20 July 1948, Rhee was elected president of the Republic of Korea<ref name="CNNfyi" /><ref name="Cold War Files" /><ref name="UCA" /> in the [[1948 South Korean presidential election]] with 92.3% of the vote; the second candidate, [[Kim Ku]], received 6.7% of the vote.<ref name="FES">{{Cite book |last=Croissant |first=Aurel |author-link=Aurel S. Croissant |title=Electoral politics in Southeast & East Asia |place=Singapore |publisher=Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung |series=370 |volume=VI |year=2002 |chapter=Electoral Politics in South Korea |chapter-url=http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/01361008.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902073621/http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/01361008.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2009 |url-status=live |pages=234–237 |url=http://library.fes.de/fulltext/iez/01361inf.htm |isbn =978-981-04-6020-4 |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref> On 15 August the Republic of Korea was formally established in the south,<ref name="UCA" /> and Rhee was [[inaugurated]] as its first president.<ref name="Doopedia" /><ref name="EncyKorea" /> The next month, on 9 September, the north also proclaimed statehood as the [[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]. Rhee's relations with the ''[[chinilpa]]'' Korean elites who had collaborated with the Japanese were, in the words of the South Korean historian Kyung Moon Hwang, often "contentious", but in the end an understanding was reached in which, in exchange for their support, Rhee would not purge the elites.<ref>Kyung Moon Hwang ''A History of Korea'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 page 204.</ref> In particular, the Koreans who had served in the colonial-era National Police, whom the Americans had retained after August 1945, were promised by Rhee that their jobs would not be threatened by him. Upon independence in 1948, 53% of South Korean police officers were men who had served in the National Police during the Japanese occupation.<ref>Hastings (1988), p. 38</ref>

=== Cabinet ===
{{Main|Cabinet of Rhee Syng-man}}

=== Political repression ===
[[File:Prisoners on ground before execution,Taejon, South Korea.jpg|thumb|Prisoners lie on the ground before execution by South Korean troops near Daejon, South Korea, July 1950. Photo by US Army Maj. Abbott.<ref name="apphoto">{{cite news |url= http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/10/korea-bloodbath-probe-ends-us-escapes-much-blame/ |title=Korea bloodbath probe ends; US escapes much blame |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=San Diego Union Tribune |author=Charles J. Hanley & Hyung-Jin Kim | date =July 10, 2010 |access-date=May 23, 2011}}</ref>]]
[[File:South Korean soldiers walk among dead political prisoners, Taejon, South Korea.jpg|thumb|South Korean soldiers walk among bodies of South Korean political prisoners shot near Daejon, South Korea, July 1950. Photo by US Army Major Abbott.<ref name="apphoto" />]]
Soon after taking office, Rhee enacted laws that severely curtailed political dissent. There was much controversy between Rhee and his leftist opponents. Allegedly, many of the leftist opponents were arrested and in some cases killed. The most controversial issue has been Kim Ku's assassination. On 26 June 1949, Kim Ku was assassinated by [[Ahn Doo-hee]], who confessed that he had been acting on the orders of [[Kim Chang-ryong]]. Ahn Doo-hee was described by the British historian Max Hastings as one of Rhee's "creatures".<ref>Hastings (1988), p. 42</ref> It soon became apparent that Rhee's style of government was rigidly authoritarian.<ref name="Tirman, John 2011 93–95">{{cite book|author=Tirman, John|title=The Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America's Wars|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-538121-4 |pages=93–95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bC5Bsc1NEQC&pg=PA93}}</ref> He allowed the internal security force (headed by his right-hand man, Kim Chang-ryong) to detain and torture suspected communists and North Korean agents. His government also oversaw several massacres, including the suppression of the [[Jeju uprising]] on [[Jeju Island]], of which South Korea's Truth Commission reported 14,373 victims, 86% at the hands of the security forces and 13.9% at the hands of communist rebels,<ref name="jeju43">{{cite web|year = 2008|url = http://www.jeju43.go.kr/english/sub05.html|title = The National Committee for Investigation of the Truth about the Jeju April 3 Incident|access-date = 15 December 2008|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090224221736/http://www.jeju43.go.kr/english/sub05.html|archive-date = 24 February 2009|df = mdy-all}}</ref> and the [[Mungyeong Massacre]].

By early 1950, Rhee had about 30,000 alleged communists in his jails, and had about 300,000 suspected sympathizers enrolled in an official "re-education" movement called the [[Bodo League]]. When the North Korean army attacked in June, retreating [[South Korean Army|South Korean forces]] executed the prisoners, along with several tens of thousands of Bodo League members.<ref name="smh.com.au">{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/south-korea-owns-up-to-brutal-past/2008/11/14/1226318928410.html|title=South Korea owns up to brutal past – World – smh.com.au|website=www.smh.com.au|date=15 November 2008}}</ref>

=== Korean War ===
{{Main|Korean War}}

Both Rhee and [[Kim Il Sung]] wanted to unite the Korean peninsula under their respective governments, but the United States refused to give South Korea any heavy weapons, to ensure that its military could only be used for preserving internal order and self-defense.<ref name="Hastings, Max page 45">Hastings (1988), p.45</ref> By contrast, [[Pyongyang]] was well equipped with Soviet aircraft, vehicles and tanks. According to John Merrill, "the war was preceded by a major insurgency in the South and serious clashes along the thirty-eighth parallel," and 100,000 people died in "political disturbances, guerrilla warfare, and border clashes".<ref>Merrill, John, ''Korea: The Peninsular Origins of the War'' (University of Delaware Press, 1989), p181.</ref>

At the outbreak of war on 25 June 1950, North Korean troops launched a full-scale invasion of South Korea. All South Korean resistance at the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]] was overwhelmed by the North Korean offensive within a few hours.  By 26 June, it was apparent that the [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) would occupy Seoul. Rhee stated, "Every Cabinet member, including myself, will protect the government."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2017/04/356_226873.html|title=Ten biggest lies in modern Korean history|date=3 April 2017|newspaper=[[The Korea Times]]}}</ref> At midnight on 28 June, the South Korean military destroyed the Han Bridge, preventing thousands of citizens from fleeing. On 28 June, North Korean soldiers occupied Seoul.

During the North Korean occupation of Seoul, Rhee established a temporary government in [[Busan]] and created a defensive perimeter along the Naktong Bulge. A series of battles ensued, which would later be known collectively as the [[Battle of Naktong Bulge]]. After the [[Battle of Inchon]] in September 1950, the North Korean military was routed, and the [[United Nations Command]] (UNC) and South Korean forces not only liberated all of South Korea, but overran much of North Korea. In the areas of North Korea taken by the UNC forces, elections were supposed to be administered by the United Nations but instead were taken over and administered by the South Koreans. Rhee insisted on ''Bukjin Tongil'' – ending war by conquering North Korea, but after the Chinese entered the war in November 1950, the UNC forces were thrown into retreat.<ref name="Ashgate Publishing, Ltd"/> During this period of crisis, Rhee ordered the [[December massacres]] of 1950. Rhee was absolutely committed to reunifying Korea under his leadership and strongly supported MacArthur's call for going all-out against China, even at the risk of provoking a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Koenig|first=Louis William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4q4JaQZWUIC&q=%22Rhee+was+told+repeatedly%22|title=The Chief Executive|date=1968|publisher=Harcourt, Brace & World|pages=228|language=en}}</ref>

Hastings notes that, during the war, Rhee's official salary was equal to [[United States dollar|$]]37.50 per month. Both at the time and since, there has been much speculation about precisely how Rhee managed to live on this amount. The entire Rhee regime was notorious for its corruption, with everyone in the government from the President downwards stealing as much they possibly could from both the public purse and from United States aid. The Rhee regime engaged in the "worst excesses of corruption", with South Korean soldiers going unpaid for months as their officers embezzled their pay, equipment provided by the United States being sold on the black market, and the size of the army being bloated by hundreds of thousands of "ghost soldiers" who only existed on paper, allowing their officers to steal pay that would have been due had these soldiers actually existed. The problems with low morale experienced by the army were largely due to the corruption of the Rhee regime. The worst scandal during the war—indeed of the entire Rhee government—was the [[National Defense Corps Incident]]. Rhee created the National Defense Corps in December 1950, intended to be a paramilitary militia, comprising men not in the military or police who were drafted into the corps for internal security duties. In the months that followed, tens of thousands of National Defense Corps men either starved or froze to death in their unheated barracks, as the men lacked winter uniforms and food. Even Rhee could not ignore the deaths of so many and ordered an investigation. It was revealed that the commander of the National Defense Corps, General Kim Yun Gun, had stolen millions of American dollars that were intended to heat the barracks and feed and clothe the men. Kim and five other officers were publicly shot at [[Daegu]] on 12 August 1951, following their convictions for corruption.<ref name="Hastings, Max page 236">Hastings (1988), p. 235-240</ref>

In the spring of 1951, Rhee—who was upset about MacArthur's dismissal as UNC commander by President Truman—lashed out in a press interview against Britain, whom he blamed for MacArthur's sacking.<ref name="Hastings, Max page 235">Hastings (1988), p. 235</ref> Rhee declared, "The British troops have outlived their welcome in my country." Shortly after, Rhee told an Australian diplomat about the Australian troops fighting for his country, "They are not wanted here any longer. Tell that to your government. The Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and British troops all represent a government which is now sabotaging the brave American effort to liberate fully and unify my unhappy nation."<ref name="Hastings, Max page 235"/>

During the Korean War armistice negotiations, one of the most contentious issues was the repatriation of prisoners of war (POWs). The UNC advocated for the principle of voluntary repatriation, allowing POWs to choose whether to return to their home countries. In contrast, the communist side insisted on mandatory repatriation, demanding that all POWs be returned regardless of their preferences. This disagreement prolonged the negotiations, and an agreement was only reached on June 8, 1953. However, Rhee strongly opposed the armistice, fearing it would leave South Korea vulnerable to future aggression and believing it failed to ensure the country's long-term security. On June 18, 1953, Rhee unilaterally ordered the release of over 27,000 anti-communist POWs held in camps across South Korea, including those in Busan, Masan, and Daegu. This action shocked the United States, the United Nations, and the communist side, as it was perceived as a direct challenge to the ongoing armistice talks. The release also led to casualties, with dozens of POWs reportedly killed or injured during the process. Rhee's decision to release the POWs is interpreted as serving multiple purposes. Domestically, it was framed as a gesture to grant freedom to anti-communist prisoners who refused to return to their communist home countries. Internationally, it was a bold political maneuver to assert South Korea's agency in the armistice process and to pressure the United States into committing to South Korea's defense. Rhee was deeply dissatisfied with the armistice negotiations being conducted without active participation from the South Korean government. His actions aimed to ensure South Korea's security through the signing of the Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. Although the unilateral release of POWs temporarily disrupted the armistice talks, it ultimately strengthened South Korea's position in post-war negotiations.<ref name="ArchivesKorea">
National Archives of Korea. "반공포로 석방 사건." Accessed January 13, 2025. 
[https://www.archives.go.kr/next/newsearch/listSubjectDescription.do?id=002717&pageFlag=&sitePage= National Archives of Korea]
</ref><ref name="EncyKoreaAntiCommunistPOWs">"반공포로 석방 사건" (Release of Anti-Communist POWs), EncyKorea, The Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved from [https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0061616](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0061616)</ref>

On July 27, 1953, the Korean War, often referred to as "one of the 20th century's most vicious and frustrating wars," ended without a clear victor. The [[Korean Armistice Agreement]] was signed by military commanders representing China, North Korea, and the United Nations Command (UNC), led by the United States. However, the Republic of Korea (ROK), under Rhee's leadership, refused to sign the agreement. His refusal to endorse the armistice eventually led to the signing of the [[Mutual Defense Treaty (United States–South Korea)|Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty]] in October 1953, which guaranteed U.S. military support for South Korea and cemented its role as a key ally in East Asia during the Cold War.<ref>James E. Dillard. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150221085414/http://www.koreanwar60.com/biographies-syngman-rhee "Biographies: Syngman Rhee"]. The Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of Korean War Commemoration Committee. Retrieved on 28 September 2016.</ref><ref name=bbc2015>[https://www.bbc.com/news/10165796 "The Korean War armistice"]. BBC News. 5 March 2015. Retrieved on 28 September 2016.</ref><ref name="NationalArchives">"Armistice Agreement for the Restoration of the South Korean State." National Archives. Accessed January 13, 2025. [https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/armistice-agreement-restoration-south-korean-state](https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/armistice-agreement-restoration-south-korean-state).</ref><ref name="DefenseGov">"Long Diplomatic Wrangling Finally Led to Korean Armistice 70 Years Ago." U.S. Department of Defense. Accessed January 13, 2025. [https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3423473/long-diplomatic-wrangling-finally-led-to-korean-armistice-70-years-ago/](https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3423473/long-diplomatic-wrangling-finally-led-to-korean-armistice-70-years-ago/).</ref><ref name="WilsonCenter">"Korean War Armistice." Wilson Center Digital Archive. Accessed January 13, 2025. [https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/topics/korean-war-armistice](https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/topics/korean-war-armistice).</ref><ref name="Britannica">"Armistice and Aid." Britannica. Accessed January 13, 2025. [https://www.britannica.com/place/Korea/Armistice-and-aid](https://www.britannica.com/place/Korea/Armistice-and-aid).</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Syngman Rhee.jpg|Rhee awarding a medal to [[US Navy]] [[Rear Admiral]] [[Ralph A. Ofstie]] during the [[Korean War]] in 1952
File:Dr. Syngman Rhee at Han River Bridge in Seoul.jpg|Rhee and his wife posing with [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] personnel in 1950 at the [[Hangang Bridge|Han River Bridge]]
File:Syngman Rhee-TIME-1953.jpg|Rhee on ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine cover, 1953|alt=
</gallery>

=== Re-election ===
Because of widespread discontent with Rhee's corruption and political repression, it was considered unlikely that Rhee would be re-elected by the [[National Assembly (South Korea)|National Assembly]]. To circumvent this, Rhee attempted to amend the constitution to allow him to hold elections for the presidency by direct popular vote. When the Assembly rejected this amendment, Rhee ordered a mass arrest of opposition politicians and then passed the desired amendment in July 1952. During the [[1952 South Korean presidential election|following presidential election]], he received 74% of the vote.<ref>{{cite book|author=Buzo, Adrian|title=The making of modern Korea|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2007|isbn=978-0-415-41482-1|page=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KAbbtKCjHfUC&pg=PA79}}</ref>

=== Post-war economic challenges ===
At the time of its creation in 1948, South Korea was among the poorest countries in the world. Twelve years later, in 1960, it held this position with a per capita income similar to that of [[Haiti]]. Although South Korea was predominantly an agricultural society that had experienced some industrialization during the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, mainly in the northern provinces, it faced significant challenges.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Seth |first=Michael J. |date=19 December 2017 |title=South Korea's Economic Development, 1948–1996 |url=https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-271 |journal=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.271 |isbn=978-0-19-027772-7 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The [[division of Korea]] in 1945 by the [[Soviet Union]] and the United States resulted in the creation of two states: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north and the Republic of Korea in the south. The DPRK inherited most of the industry, mining, and more than 80% of electricity generation. In contrast, the ROK owned the majority of productive agricultural areas, but these were barely enough to feed a densely populated and rapidly growing population.<ref name=":2" />

The period after the war was marked by a very slow recovery, despite South Korea being one of the largest per capita recipients of [[Aid|foreign aid]].<ref name=":2" /> The lack of central planning, minimal investment in infrastructure, poor use of aid funds, government corruption, political instability, and the threat of renewed war with the North made the country very unattractive to both domestic and foreign investors. Additionally, the fear of recreating a [[Colonialism|colonial]] dependence on Japan prevented Seoul from opening the country to trade and investment with its prosperous neighbor.<ref name=":2" />

=== Resignation and exile ===
After the war ended in July 1953, South Korea struggled to rebuild following nationwide devastation. The country remained at a [[Third World]] level of development and was heavily reliant on US aid.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Snyder|first=Scott A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmhADwAAQBAJ&pg=PT33|title=South Korea at the Crossroads: Autonomy and Alliance in an Era of Rival Powers|date=2 January 2018|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-54618-8|pages=33|language=en}}</ref> Rhee was easily re-elected for what should have been the final time [[1956 South Korean presidential election|in 1956]], since the 1948 constitution limited the president to two consecutive terms. However, soon after being sworn in, he had the legislature amend the constitution to allow the incumbent president to run for an unlimited number of terms, despite protests from the opposition.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kil|first1=Soong Hoom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjVmngFyUTcC&pg=PA143|title=Understanding Korean Politics: An Introduction|last2=Moon|first2=Chung-in|date=1 March 2010|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-9101-0|pages=143|language=en}}</ref>

[[March 1960 South Korean presidential election|In March 1960]], the 84-year-old Rhee won his fourth term in office as president. His victory was assured with 100% of the vote after the main opposition candidate, [[Cho Byeong-ok]], died shortly before the 15 March elections.<ref name="Han">Han, S-J. (1974) ''The Failure of Democracy in South Korea.'' University of California Press, p. 28–29.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lentz|first=Harris M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA483|title=Heads of States and Governments Since 1945|date=4 February 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-26490-2|language=en}}</ref>

Rhee wanted his protégé, [[Lee Ki-poong]], elected as Vice President—a separate office under Korean law at that time. When Lee, who was running against [[Chang Myon]] (the ambassador to the United States during the Korean War, a member from the opposition Democratic Party) won the vote with a wide margin, the opposition Democratic Party claimed the election was [[Electoral fraud|rigged]]. This triggered anger among segments of the Korean populace on 19 April. When police shot demonstrators in [[Masan]], the student-led [[April Revolution]] forced Rhee to resign on 26 April.<ref name="Han" />

Following his resignation, he spent a month at the [[Ihwajang|Ihwajang House]] and departed for exile in Hawaii by plane on 29 May.<ref>{{citation |last1=Lee |first1=dong-woo |title=As his longing for his homeland deepened, his beloved dog 'Happy' stayed by his side.|date=2025 |publisher=[[The Financial News]]|url=https://www.fnnews.com/news/202501071858287652#_PA}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Kim |first1=mi-roo |title=Syngman Rhee, the first president of South Korea, never returned to his homeland and died in solitude in Hawaii|date=2023 |publisher=(Money today, 머니 투데이)|url=https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2023071810092347336}}</ref> The former president, his wife, and their adopted son subsequently lived in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19650719.2.4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|title = Madera Tribune 19 July 1965 — California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref>

== Death ==
Rhee died of stroke complications in Honolulu on 19 July 1965.<ref name="NYTimes.com 1965-07-20 pp. 1, 30">{{cite web |title=Syngman Rhee Dies an Exile From Land He Fought to Free; Body of Ousted President, 90, Will Be Returned to Seoul for Burial |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=20 July 1965 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/07/20/96708697.html?pageNumber=1 |url-access=subscription |pages=1, 30}}</ref> A week later, his body was returned to Seoul and buried in the [[Seoul National Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dijk |first1=Ruud van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xNEI5CEZX-UC&q=syngman+rhee+national+cemetery&pg=PT1660 |title=Encyclopedia of the Cold War |last2=Gray |first2=William Glenn |last3=Savranskaya |first3=Svetlana |last4=Suri |first4=Jeremi |last5=Zhai |first5=Qiang |date=1 May 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-92310-5 |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Rhee was married to Seungseon Park from 1890 to 1910. Park divorced Rhee shortly after the death of their son Rhee Bong-su in 1908, supposedly because their marriage had no intimacy due to his political activities.{{citation needed|date = September 2021}}

In February 1933, Rhee met Austrian [[Franziska Donner]] in Geneva.<ref name="EncyKorea D">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Index?contents_id=E0060456 |script-title=ko:프란체스카 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |access-date=7 April 2014 |language=ko |trans-title=Francesca}}</ref> At the time, Rhee was participating in a League of Nations meeting<ref name="EncyKorea D" /> and Donner was working as an interpreter.<ref name="KoreaTimes 13" /> In October 1934, they were married<ref name="EncyKorea D" /> in New York City.<ref name="KoreaTimes 13" /><ref name="Walnut">{{cite magazine | title = KOREA: The Walnut | magazine = TIME | date = 9 March 1953 | access-date = 20 March 2010 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890478-3,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111118063322/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890478-3,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 18 November 2011 | quote = In 1932, while attempting to put Korea's case before an indifferent League of Nations in Geneva, Rhee met Francesca Maria Barbara Donner, 34, the daughter of a family of Viennese iron merchants. Two years later they were married in a Methodist ceremony in New York.}}</ref> She also acted as his secretary.<ref name="EncyKorea D" />

Over the years after the death of Bong-su, Rhee adopted three sons. The first was Rhee Un-soo, however, the elder Rhee ended the adoption in 1949.<ref>{{cite book |author1=정병준 |script-title=ko:우남이승만연구 |date=2005 |publisher=역사비평사 |pages=56, 64}}</ref> The second adopted son was Lee Kang-seok, eldest son of Lee Ki-poong, who was a descendant of [[Prince Hyoryeong]]<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:효령대군파 권37(孝寧大君派 卷之三十七) |url=http://visualjoseon.aks.ac.kr/viewer/view?itemId=jb&gubun=person&dataId=K21131B_037_188900 |website=장서각기록유산DB |access-date=5 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:전주이씨효령대군정효공파세보 全州李氏孝寧大君靖孝公派世譜 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1568146 |website=FamilySearch |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref> and therefore a distant cousin of Rhee; but Lee committed suicide in 1960.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Choy|first1=Bong-youn|title=Korea: A History|date=1971|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=9781462912483|page=352|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0nRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT352|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Oh|first1=John Kie-chiang|title=Korean Politics: The Quest for Democratization and Economic Development|date=1999|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=0801484588|page=[https://archive.org/details/koreanpoliticsqu00ohjo/page/43 43]|url=https://archive.org/details/koreanpoliticsqu00ohjo|url-access=registration|language=en}}</ref> After Rhee was exiled, Rhee In-soo, who is a descendant of [[Prince Yangnyeong]] just like Rhee, was adopted by him as his heir.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:전주이씨양녕대군파대보 全州李氏讓寧大君派大譜, 2권, 655–1980 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1918690 |website=FamilySearch |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:100 hwan coin obverse.jpeg|thumb|Rhee depicted on a 1959-issued 100 [[South Korean hwan|hwan]] coin]]

Rhee's former Seoul residence, [[Ihwajang]], is currently used for the presidential memorial museum. The Woo-Nam Presidential Preservation Foundation has been set up to honor his legacy. There is also a memorial museum located in Hwajinpo near Kim Il Sung's cottage.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Rhee imbued South Korea with a legacy of authoritarian rule that lasted with only a few short breaks until 1988. One of those breaks came when the country adopted a parliamentary system with a figurehead president in response to Rhee's abuses. This [[Second Republic of South Korea|Second Republic]] would only last a year before being overthrown in a [[1961 South Korean coup d'état|1961 military coup]]. In spite of this, however, the ensuing president [[Park Chung Hee]] expressed criticism of Rhee's regime, in particular for its lack of focus on economic and industrial development. Beginning with the Park era, the standing of Rhee and his "diplomatic" faction of the Korean independence movement fell in the public consciousness in favor of Kim Ku and [[An Jung-geun|Ahn Jung-geun]], who embodied the "armed resistance" faction of the right-wing independence movement, who were preferred by Park; Kim's son [[Kim Shin (general)|Kim Shin]] and Ahn's nephew {{ill|Ahn Chun-saeng|ko|안춘생}} both cooperated with the Park regimes of the [[Third Republic of Korea|Third]] and [[Fourth Republic of Korea|Fourth Republic]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baek |first=Seung-dae |date=14 September 2014 |script-title=ko:박정희가 띄운 김구, 어떻게 진보의 아이콘 됐나 |url=https://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002030031 |access-date=6 February 2024 |website=[[OhmyNews]] |language=ko}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=See unreliable sources list on [[WP:KO/RS]]|date=November 2024}}

Rhee began to be reevaluated after democratization in 1987, and in particular came to be associated with the so-called [[New Right (South Korea)|New Right]] movement, some members of which have argued that Rhee's achievements have been wrongly undervalued, and that he should be viewed positively as the [[Father of the Nation|founding father]] of the Republic of Korea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Eun-woo |date=12 September 2023 |title=South Koreans Are Locked in a Battle Over Historical Interpretations |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/09/south-koreans-are-locked-in-a-battle-over-historical-interpretations/ |access-date=6 February 2024 |website=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |language=en-US}}</ref> An early and prominent example of such literature was Volume 2 of ''Re-Understanding the History of Pre- and Post-Liberation'' ({{Korean|hangul=해방 전후사의 재인식|labels=no}}), published in 2006 by various "New Right" scholars. This academic dispute formed one of the germs behind the later [[Korean history textbook controversies|history textbook controversies]] in the country.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In any event, this view has not spread much beyond the right-wing, with a 2023 [[Gallup Korea]] survey finding that only 30% of respondents saying that Rhee "did many good things", versus 40% who thought that he "did many wrong things" and 30% who had no opinion or didn't respond. Moreover, only about half of [[People Power Party (South Korea)|conservative party]] supporters, as well as half of self-described [[Conservatism in South Korea|conservatives]], gave the first response.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 November 2023 |script-title=ko:데일리 오피니언 제567호(2023년 11월 5주) - 역대 대통령 10인 개별 공과(功過) 평가 (11월 통합 포함) |url=https://www.gallup.co.kr/gallupdb/reportContent.asp?seqNo=1437 |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=[[Gallup Korea]]}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
* Portrayed by Lee Chang-hwan in the 1991–1992 [[Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation|MBC]] TV series ''[[Eyes of Dawn]]''.
* Portrayed by Kwon Sung-deok in the 2006 [[KBS1]] TV series ''[[Seoul 1945]]''.
* In the ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' episode titled "Mail Call, Again", Radar mentions a parade in Seoul due to Syngman Rhee being "elected dictator again."<ref>{{cite web|title=M*A*S*H s04e14 Episode Script G518 - Mail Call, Again|url=https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=mash&episode=s04e14|website=springfieldspringfield.co.uk|date=2014|access-date=18 March 2023}}</ref>
* Rhee is referenced in the lyrics to singer [[Billy Joel]]'s 1989 music single, "[[We Didn't Start the Fire]]".<ref>[https://www.billyjoel.com/song/we-didnt-start-fire-11/ We Didn't Start the Fire]. BillyJoel.com. Retrieved 25 September 2016.</ref>
* Rhee is mentioned in Philip Roth's ''[[I Married a Communist]]''.
* Rhee's new documentary film, ''The Birth of Korea'' ({{Korean|hangul=건국전쟁|labels=no}}) was released in 2024, to re-establish his legacy and works.
* Season 3 of the [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] podcast ''[[Blowback (podcast)|Blowback]]'' released in 2022 includes details about Rhee's rule, particularly his role as it related to U.S. Cold War foreign policy.

== Works ==
* ''The Spirit of Independence'' ({{Korean|hangul=독립정신|hanja=獨立精神|labels=no}}; 1904)
* [https://archive.org/details/neutralityasinf00rheegoog ''Neutrality as Influenced by the United States''] (1912)
* ''Japan Inside and Out'' (1941)

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|Politics|South Korea
}}
* [[President of South Korea]]
* [[Francesca Donner]]
* [[Inha University]]
* [[Korean independence movement]]
* [[Korean National Association]]
* [[Cabinet of Rhee Syng-man]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Appleman |first=Roy E. |title=South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu: United States Army in the Korean War |url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/korea/20-2-1/toc.htm |year=1998 |publisher=[[Department of the Army]] |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-001918-0 |access-date=15 December 2011 |archive-date=7 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207235336/http://www.history.army.mil/books/korea/20-2-1/toc.htm |url-status=dead }}
* Fields, David. ''Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea.'' University Press of Kentucky, 2019, 264 pages, {{ISBN|978-0813177199}}.
* Lew, Yong Ick. ''The Making of the First Korean President: Syngman Rhee's Quest for Independence'' (University of Hawai'i Press; 2013). Scholarly biography; 576 pages.
* {{Cite book|last=Shin |first=Jong Dae, Christian F. Ostermann, and James F. Person |title=North Korean Perspectives on the Overthrow of Syngman Rhee |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/north-korean-perspectives-the-overthrow-syngman-rhee |year=2013 |publisher=[[North Korea International Documentation Project]] |location=Washington, D.C.}}
* ''[[Syngman Rhee and Kim Ku]]'', a 7 volume biography of Rhee and Kim Ku by {{Ill|Son Sae-il|ko|손세일}}.

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
*[https://archive.org/details/foia_Rhee_Syngman-HQ-1 Syngman Rhee's FBI files] hosted at the [[Internet Archive]]

{{S-start}}
{{S-off}}
{{S-new|first|reason=Establishment of the Republic}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea|President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]]|years=11 September 1919&nbsp;– 21 March 1925}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Park Eunsik]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Kim Kyu-sik]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=Chairmen of the Interim Legislative Assembly|years=1948}}
{{S-aft|after=Himself|as=Speaker of the Constituent Assembly}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-bef|before=Himself|as=Chairmen of the Interim Legislative Assembly}}
{{S-ttl|title=Speaker of the National Constituent Assembly|years=1948}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Shin Ik-hee]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Kim Ku]]}}
{{S-ttl||title=[[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea|President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]]|years=1947–1948}}
{{S-aft|after=Syngman Rhee<br />([[President of South Korea]])}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-bef|before=Syngman Rhee|as=President of the Provisional Government}}
{{S-ttl||title= 1~3rd [[President of South Korea]]|years=24 July 1948&nbsp;– 26 April 1960}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Heo Jeong]]<br />(Acting)}}
{{S-end}}
{{Presidents of South Korea}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhee, Syngman}}
[[Category:Syngman Rhee| ]]
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Korean people]]
[[Category:Burials at Seoul National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Conservatism in South Korea]]
[[Category:Converts to Methodism]]
[[Category:Exiled politicians]]
[[Category:First Republic of Korea]]
[[Category:George Washington University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:House of Yi]]
[[Category:South Korean expatriates in China]]
[[Category:Korean nationalists]]
[[Category:Korean torture victims]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (South Korea) politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]]
[[Category:People from Haeju]]
[[Category:People from North Hwanghae Province]]
[[Category:People of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Politicide perpetrators]]
[[Category:Presidents of South Korea]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Korea]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Sadaejuui]]<!-- <ref name="친미 사대주의">{{cite book |editor=송건호 |script-title=ko:송건호전집 - Volume 13  |quote=... 민족주의자인 김구도 철저한 친미 사대주의자 이승만과는 맞을 수가 없었다. 대체로 위와 같이 제각기 성장 과정 ... |date=2002 |page=341 |publisher=한길사}}</ref> -->
[[Category:South Korean anti-communists]]
[[Category:South Korean expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:South Korean far-right politicians]]
[[Category:South Korean Methodists]]
[[Category:Speakers of the National Assembly (South Korea)]]
[[Category:South Korean people of North Korean origin]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of political repression in South Korea]]
[[Category:Foreign nationals imprisoned in Japan]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa]]
[[Category:Korean war criminals]]
[[Category:Impeached officials]]