The Constituent National Assembly () of South Korea was the constituent and first

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

of the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Consisting of 200 members elected for the election on May 10, 1948, it was formed on May 31, 1948 and served for two years until May 30, 1950.

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...

was invited to be the first interim chairman and the National Assembly chairman, and

Sin Ik-hui Sin Ik-hui (; 9 June 1894 – 5 May 1956) was a Korean independence activist and politician. He was Speaker of the National Assembly during President Syngman Rhee's first term (4 August 1948 and 30 May 1950) and second term (19 June 1950 and ...

and were elected as vice chairmen. Formed under the mandate of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

, the constituent assembly ratified the

constitution of the Republic of Korea The Constitution of the Republic of Korea () is the supreme law of South Korea. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised on October 29, 1987. Background The Provisional Charter of Korea The preamble of the Constitution of Sou ...

and voted Syngman Rhee as the first president of the Republic.

Members

History

Formation

First congress of Republic of Korea opening

With further discussions over the creation of an united Korean government halted over the failures of the and the subsequent outbreak of political violence within Korea, calls for an immediate establishment of a separate Korean government grew within right-wing spheres south of the 38th parallel. With U.S. leaders disillusioned by the lack of progress made through the Joint Commission, the "Korean question" was submitted to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

under the responsibility of the First Committee to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, 1947. Notwithstanding Soviet opposition, the General Assembly adopted on November 14, which stipulated that elections would be held in both regions of Korea to elect representatives who would establish an independent Korean government under UN supervision, but before the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces from the peninsula could take place. The elections would be supervised by a special commission of eleven nations known as the

United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea The United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK; ) was a body that oversaw elections in U.S.-controlled South Korea in May 1948. Background After Korea was liberated from its status as a colony of the Empire of Japan at the end of Wor ...

(UNTCOK). Pyongyang's staunch refusal to make any contact with UNTCOK delegates initially left the commission divided, with Nationalist China and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

advocating for the creation of an independent government in the south amidst the skepticism of the rest of the committee. On February 27, however, an interim committee of the General Assembly adopted American Ambassador-at-Large

Philip C. Jessup Philip Caryl Jessup (February 5, 1897 – January 31, 1986) was a 20th-century American diplomat, scholar, and jurist notable for his accomplishments in the field of international law. Early life and education Philip Caryl Jessup was born on ...

's resolution, which stipulated that immediate elections take place in Korea. Despite opposition from an anti-election faction within the committee, an

legislative election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

eventually took place exclusively in South Korea on May 10, 1948, under UNTCOK supervision. The 1948 election appointed 198 representatives from 198 constituencies (two more representatives were elected from the two constituencies of

Jeju Jeju may refer to: South Korea * Jeju Island (Jejudo), South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo ** Jeju City, its capital ** Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju language ** The ...

in 1949, where elections were postponed due to the

Jeju Uprising The Jeju uprising (in South Korea, the ''Jeju April 3 incident'', ) was an insurrection on Jeju Island, South Korea from April 1948 to May 1949. A year prior to its start, residents of Jeju had begun protesting elections scheduled by the Un ...

), with

's National Society for the Rapid Realization of Korean Independence (NSRRKI) winning the most seats out of any party. On May 31, 1948, at 10:20 a.m. KST, the 198 representatives gathered together at the Seoul Capitol for the first meeting of the first National Assembly. Rhee, winning 188 out of 198 votes, was voted as the assembly's first interim chairman, along with

and as vice chairmen.

Major Events

* July 12, 1948: The assembly adopts the

Constitution of the Republic of Korea The Constitution of the Republic of Korea () is the supreme law of South Korea. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised on October 29, 1987. Background The Provisional Charter of Korea The preamble of the Constitution of Sou ...

. * July 17, 1948: The Constitution is

promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law i ...

. * July 20, 1948: Syngman Rhee is

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

as the republic's first president by the assembly, receiving 180 votes out of the 196 members who were present. * July 24, 1948: Rhee is sworn into office. * July 27, 1948: Rhee's initial nomination of Yi Yun-yong as

Prime Minister of South Korea The prime minister of the Republic of Korea () is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea. The prime minister is appointed by the president of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's appro ...

is rejected. * July 29, 1948: The assembly approve's Rhee's nomination of Lee Beom-seok as prime minister. * August 15, 1948: The Republic of Korea is declared, marking the official transfer of power from the American military administration to an independent Korean state.

Major legislation

* July 17, 1948: Government Organization Act, No. 1 * September 22, 1948: , No. 3 * December 1, 1948: National Security Act, No.10 * June 22, 1949:
No. 31

References

Sources

* {{refend 1948 in South Korea Allied occupation of Korea National Assembly (South Korea)