Syngman Rhee

Syngman Rhee was a prominent Korean politician and the first President of South Korea, serving from 1948 to 1960. He played a key role in establishing the Republic of Korea after the end of Japanese occupation in 1945. Rhee was a staunch anti-communist and aligned South Korea closely with the United States during the Cold War. His presidency was marked by authoritarian rule and widespread corruption, leading to civil unrest. In 1960, following student protests against his government’s electoral fraud, he resigned and went into exile, marking a significant shift in South Korea’s political landscape.