장제스의 친중정부 수립 구상과 이승만(1945~1947)

Abstract

As it is well known, Kai-shek Chiang and Syngman Rhee were anticommunist partners in East Asia in the early Cold War. While those in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea carried on an independence movement in China and maintained relations with Chiang, Rhee mostly stayed in the United States and had almost no chance to meet Chiang. When the United Nations Conference on International Organization was held in San Francisco in 1945, Rhee met Wellington Koo, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, and Yulin Shao, former Chinese Ambassador to Korea. Rhee back then criticized that those from the U.S. Department of State who rejected the participation of the Korean delegates in the conference were pro-communists. In addition, he made hard-hitting and aggressive statements, such as saying that the United States agreed to hand over the Korean Peninsula to the Soviet Union in Yalta, which made him at odds with the U.S. Department of State. Those from China did not have a positive impression of Rhee who were in conflict with the United States as well as Korean communities in the United States and reported to Chiang that Rhee was an anti-communist. Rhee also came into conflict with John Reed Hodge, the military governor of South Korea under the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK), and visited the United States to appeal to the Allied to approve the Government of the Republic of Korea as soon as possible. However, he returned from the United States empty handed and the rift between him and the United States deepened. As he returned to Korea, he sent a message that he wanted to meet Chiang in China. The purposes of his visit to China were to have the support of Chiang for the independence of the Republic of Korea and also to receive the support fund that Chiang promised to give to Gu Kim for his activities. Ahead of his visit to China, Chiang’s aides reported to Chiang that Rhee was a headstrong anti-communist and suggested him to keep away from Rhee in order to avoid any misunderstanding with the United States. After Chiang met Rhee in person, however, Chiang highly appreciated his spirit and will against communism, and ordered to send to Rhee 100,000 dollars left out of 200,000 dollars that were promised to give Gu Kim after being paid to the delegates of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in China. Whether the money was handed over to Rhee or not is still disputable, but the way Chiang gave such orders and advised Kim to cooperate with Rhee shows that Chiang seemed to think that a pro-China government could be established not only by Kim but also by Rhee, and to start to consider Rhee as an anti-communist partner in East Asia. The meeting between Rhee and Chiang in 1947 was short, but it served as the first button for the two to become strong allies later in the early Cold War.