First Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea 대한민국 大韓民國
1948–1960
Flag (1949–1960) Emblem
Anthem: 애국가 "Aegukga" (1948) "Aegukga" (1948–1960)
Seal (1949–1960)
Capital	Seoul (1948–1950, 1952–1960) Busan (1950–1952)
Common languages	Korean
Religion	Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, Korean Shamanism, Cheondoism
Government	Unitary presidential republic under an authoritarian dictatorship
President
• 1948–1960	Syngman Rhee
Vice President
• 1948–1951	Yi Si-yeong
• 1951–1952	Kim Seong-su
• 1952–1956	Ham Tae-young
• 1956–1960	Chang Myon
Legislature	National Assembly
Historical era	Cold War
• Proclamation of the Republic of Korea	15 August 1948
• Korean War	25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953
• April Revolution	19 April 1960
Currency	Won (1945–1953) Hwan (1953–1962)
Preceded by Succeeded by United States Army Military Government in Korea Second Republic of Korea
Today part of	North Korea South Korea
As Korean Republic

First Republic of Korea
South Korean President Syngman Rhee bestowing a medal on a U.S. Navy admiral
Korean name
Hangul	제1공화국
Hanja	第一共和國
Revised Romanization	Jeil Gonghwaguk
McCune–Reischauer	Cheil Konghwaguk

Part of a series on the
History of South Korea
Preludes to Division 1910–48 Japanese rule 1910–45 Korean Provisional Government 1919–48 People's Republic of Korea 1945–46 USAMGIK 1945–48
First Republic 1948–60 Korean War 1950–53 Syngman Rhee government 1948–60 April Revolution 1960
Second Republic 1960–63 Yun Posun government 1960 Chang Myon cabinet 1960–61 May 16 coup 1961 Supreme Council for National Reconstruction 1961–63
Third Republic 1963–72 Park Chung-hee government 1963–79 Yushin Constitution 1972
Fourth Republic 1972–81 Assassination of Park Chung-hee 1979 December 12 coup 1979 May 17 coup 1980 Gwangju Uprising 1980
Fifth Republic 1981–87 Chun Doo-hwan government 1981–87 June Democracy Movement 1987
Sixth Republic 1987–present Roh Tae-woo government 1988–93 Kim Young-sam government 1993–98 1997 Asian financial crisis 1997–2001 Kim Dae-jung government 1998–2003 Roh Moo-hyun government 2003–08 Lee Myung-bak government 2008–13 Park Geun-hye government 2013–17 Moon Jae-in government 2017–22 Yoon Seok-yeol government 2022–present
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The First Republic of Korea (Korean: 제1공화국; RR: Jeil Gonghwaguk; lit. "First Republic") was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to April 1960. The first republic was founded on 15 August 1948 after the transfer from the United States Army Military Government that governed South Korea since the end of Japanese rule in 1945, becoming the first independent republican government in Korea. Syngman Rhee became the first president of South Korea following the May 1948 general election, and the National Assembly in Seoul promulgated South Korea's first constitution in July, establishing a presidential system of government.

The first republic claimed sovereignty over all of Korea but only controlled Korea south of the 38th parallel until the end of the Korean War in 1953, when the border was modified. The first republic was characterized by Rhee's authoritarianism and corruption, limited economic development, strong anti-communism, and by the late 1950s growing political instability and public opposition to Rhee. The April Revolution in April 1960 led to Rhee's resignation and the transition to the second Republic of Korea.