1948년 유엔 소총회의 남한 총선거 결의와 그 의의

Abstract

This paper examines the resolution of the UN Interim Committee on the establishment of the Korean national government through the general election of South Korea in February 1948 in terms of domestic politics, international diplomacy, and relations with North Korea. Until now, researches on this issue had been conducted mainly concentrating on Rhee Syngman, Kim Gu, and Kim Gyusik, but this paper also examined the intentions of various political forces and the general public during the period. As a result, the majority of Koreans living in the south thought that South Korea alone should hold a general election to establish an independent government. Therefore, when Kim Gu and Kim Gyusik opposed the general election and insisted on furthering inter-Korean negotiations, their former supporters switched their position and sided with Rhee Syngman. Menon informed the UN General Assembly that the majority of Koreans are wishing South Korea to have an independent government. Researches have also considered the general election in South Korea as an incident that led to the solidification of the north-south division in Korea. However, this paper reveals that the U.S. government and Rhee Syngman thought that the establishment of the South Korean government was the first step toward a democratic unified nation. The U.S. government, reflecting on past experience, believed that it was impossible to establish a democratic state through compromising with the Soviet Union. First establishing a democratic state in South Korea and then extending this to North Korea making a democratic unification state was considered a valid strategy. This paper also explored the positions of the Soviet Union and North Korea during the discussion of the U.N. Interim Committee. Before South Korea’s general elections, the Soviet Union already prepared a constitution to establish a single government in North Korea and established the People’s Army. Also, in order to prevent a single government from being established in South Korea, they orchestrated a major riot with the mobilization of the Namro(South Labor) Party. However, these actions were accepted as giving South Korean government the grounds to strengthen their police power and the persuasive power for establishing a single government within the United Nations.