1949년 4월 정치요약

THE FOREIGN SERVICE OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Action Assigned to Despatch No. [illegible] American Embassy CONFIDENTIAL Seoul, Korea, May 17, 1949 Date of Action Section Office Symbol [illegible] Subject: Political [illegible] April 1949 Action to DC/R [illegible] The Honorable The Secretary of State, Washington. Sir: In continuation of Despatch No. 222, April 18, 1949, reporting on political developments in Korea for the month of March, 1949, I have the honor to submit a review of political developments in April, 1949. I. SUMMARY Successful restoration of public peace in troubled districts was the most noteworthy achievement of the month of April. Army and police, encouraged and directed by the new Minister of Defense, fought successful rebel-extermination campaigns in the South and arrested numerous important Communist leaders and party members in Seoul and the provinces. The reaction from past months' Communist disturbances, plus announcement of American troop withdrawal in "a matter of months," may help to explain signs of growing authoritarianism in the government: the President's one-people movement through the National Society, and the Education Minister's thought-purifying National Students' Defense Corps. A second return of the Local Administration bill to the Assembly, on the ground that Korea was not yet ready for elected local government, fitted into the same theme. The alleged peculations of Commerce Minister YIM continued to occupy official and general public attention. Although a cumulative total of 220 suspected national traitors had been apprehended by April 30th, many were released on bail (all wealthy men) and none was sentenced, giving rise to some popular doubt of the sincerity of anti-national court proceedings. The Communist organizations in South Korea took a beating from security forces. The American ambassador and Pre..ic large d'affaires presented their credentials to the Republic; delegates of the United Nations Commission on Korea continued their deliberations and went on trips. A trade arrangement with Japan was signed by Korean and representatives of Supreme Command Allied Powers. The Ministry of Education announced a plan for effectuation of compulsory education. I. DOMESTIC TRANQUILLITY Coordinated efforts of Army and police, directed by Defense Minister SHIN Sung Mo, therefore a substantial degree of peace and order all over South Korea. Island and ruins of small villages and remote police sub-stations continued is the south, but were much fewer and less violent. Conditions at month's end were comparable to the best days of the Military Government era, and represented a great improvement over the March situation. Cheju Island. The all-out guerrilla extermination campaign, begun in March, came to a virtual end in April with order restored and most rebels and sympathizers killed, captured or converted. Defense Minister Sihn, on the President's orders, made a second trip to the island lasting two weeks, during which he personally directed military operations for some days and took much interest in relief and welfare measures for destitute islanders. President Syngman RHEE made a flying trip to Cheju on the 9th and 10th of April, which left a deep impression on the local populace, as well as evidencing the government's opinion that the territory had been made safe. The Home Affairs Minister stated on April 28th that five hundred police reinforcements, recently dispatched to the island, had blockaded and demolished all supply routes into the interior, so that final capitulation would be a matter of weeks. South Cholla Province and Vicinity. As on Cheju, the six-week anti-guerrilla campaign of the Korean Army restored order in the Chiri Mountain trouble zone. The Chiri Task Force, its work done, was disbanded and its component units resumed normal training. An American missionary who drove over back roads through the formerly troubled area around Chiri Mountain and surrounding mountain chains reported that there are no signs of trouble. 1. Embassy airgram A-160, May 2, 1949. 2. Embassy airgram A-127, April 5, 1949 3. Embassy airgram A-112, April 22, [illegible] 4. Embassy airgram A-142, April 22, 1949. 5. Seoul Sinmoon, April 28, 1949. 6. Embassy airgrams A-160, May 2, 1949, and A-151, May 2, 1949. V. COMMUNISM SOUTH OF THE PARALLEL April was an unhappy month for the South Korean Labor Party and its various subsidiary Communist organizations. Their "war of liberation" in the Cheju and Chiri Mountain areas ended in virtually complete defeat at the hands of the Republic's security forces (see Section II). At the same time, police were everywhere apprehending subversive suspects under the Public Peace Law. Most noteworthy individual arrest was that of LEE Chung Up, Chief of the Central Organizing Department of the SKIP, who succeeded PAK Heung Yung and HO Enn to the party leadership. Intelligence officers of the Korean Army apprehended sixty other prominent leftists with Lee 2. Seven persons, allegedly Communist cell members within the Korea Electric Power Company, were arrested on April 18th 3; eleven nurses of the Seoul City Hospital were arrested as cell members 4; six alleged cell-members, including the leader, in the Chosun Commercial Bank were arrested on April 12th 5; and from April 1st to 20th, a total of seventy-eight students in fifteen colleges and middle schools were arrested as members of the Communistic Democratic Students' Alliance b. Arrests of leftist teachers continued all over the country. Meanwhile, a constant flow of Communist orders, organization plans, and propaganda directives came into the hands of Republic security forces, their volume indicating that Party secrecy and discipline had broken down considerably. North Korea's bid for southern enrollment at the Kim Il Sung University suffered a setback when recruiters LIM Yung Chin of the SKIP and seven associates were picked up on April 3rd 7. Latest available samples of Communist propaganda contain all the old line 8, such as: "Down with the so-called Republic of Korea which cooperates with American imperialism! Drive out UNCOK, which was sent to legalize the stay of American forces! Object to the outrageous arrest, torture, massacre of patriots! Hurrah for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea!" President Rhee's withdrawal statement on April 18th apparently confused the Communists, who are no doubt waiting for authoritative advice on how to attack what they have previously supported. 2. Embassy airgram A-131, April 14, 1949. 3. Bangkok Ilbo, May 3, 1949. 4. Tae lang Sinmoon, April 28, 1949. 5. Tongnip Sinmoon, April 15, 1949. 6. Pyung Hwa Ilbo, April 22, 1949. 7. Embassy airgram A-131, April 14, 1949. 8. Embassy airgram A-155, April 29, 1949. UNCOK relations with the government of the Republic improved somewhat in comparison with the previous month. The President and Foreign Minister were both reported in the newspapers 2 to be skeptical of the possibility of UNCOK success in unification of the country. Nevertheless, the Foreign Minister invited UNCOK to view the May 10th elections on Cheju Island. The Commission's tour of South Cholla, April 25th to 29th, resulted in a favorable impression as to conditions in schools, factories, railways, and Army units, and as to the outward economic situation generally. However, the heavy guard assigned by the government during the trip was interpreted as a device to prevent close contact with the people; and the obviously staged good-will demonstrations at every whistle-stop along the route unfavorably impressed delegates. A projected trip to Cheju Island got only as far as the fog over the island's airfield; weather conditions prevented landing 3. 2. Evang Hyang Sinmoon, April 18, 1949. 3. Embassy airgram I-162, May 2, 1949. [illegible handwritten text]