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The War Policy, War Objective, and Conduct of War by President Syngman Rhee during the Korean War

Jeongok Nam 1

1국방부군사편찬연구소

Candidate

ABSTRACT

This article aims to explain about the war policy, objective, and conduct of war by President Syngman Rhee during the Korean War. The Korean War was the most difficult and potentially the most disastrous of the early Cold War period, a conflict which directly involved one of superpowers in open war with the most populous state in the world. The other superpower was only indirectly involved but there was always the possibility that it might intervene; the Third World War could erupt. This study has tried answer the following key questions: (1) What was President Syngman Rhee’s strategy toward the United States prior to the Korean War? (2) How did President Syngman Rhee act the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) surprise attack against the ROK? (3) What was war policy and objective of President Syngman Rhee? (4) When and Why did President Syngman Rhee try to penetrate the 38th parallel? (5) Why did President Syngman Rhee involve the United States into the Korean War? (6) What was role of President Syngman Rhee during the Korean War? (7) What did President Syngman Rhee obtain from the United States after the armistice? In seeking answers to the above questions in this paper, Foreign Relations of the United States by the US Department of State, Documents and Files of the ROK Government, the Korean War History by Ministry of National Defense of the ROK were used, and the Memoirs of those officers and generals who played an active part in policy-making were consulted also. In conclusion, President Syngman Rhee achieved an enforcement of the ROK Armed Forces and the ROK-US alliance relations through the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.