이승만의 정치 리더십 연구: 반민법 제정과 반민특위 활동을 중심으로

This paper intends to examine the political leadership of Syngman Rhee which is shown around the enactment of the Banminbub or the Law for Prosecution of Anti-National Offenders and the activity of BanminTeugwi or the Special Committee for Prosecution of Anti-National Offenders. The precedent researches have approached this subject from the viewpoint of‘ the recovery of national spirit’and have resulted in mostly negative evaluations about Syngman Rhee’s leadership with focus on what they viewed as the core of his leadership such as ‘the appointment for governmental posts of former pro-Japan collaborators’or‘ the dismantlement of the BanminTeugwi. In this article, however, I argue that the perspective of‘ the recovery of national spirit’tends to overlook the political context which pressed Korean politics to choose the political regime itself and the problem of ‘the survivability of a newly independent country.’To tell the truth, the newly independent Rupublic of Korea was too weak and unstable in its institutional and material infrastructure to provide the immediate solution to these problems. Nonetheless, I agree that the prosecution of ‘anti-national offenders’(former colonial collaborators) was an essential element for strengthening the legitimacy of the newly independent Korea. This is the reason why the members of the constitutional assembly of ROK strenuously insisted on the immediate and extensive prosecution of anti-national offenders. Against this trend, however, Syngman Rhee’s Government insisted that the prosecution of anti-national offenders be postponed after the enactment of Banminbub and the establishment of the state’s authority and social order. The core of controversy between the two opposing viewpoints was the question of priority and the way of harmonization between the prosecution of Chinilpa or pro-Japan collaborators and the establishment of social order through policing. Syngman Rhee resolutely chose the priority of the latter, arguing that the civil techniques of the national police were desperately required at that time as the leftist dissidents were strengthening their activities in the aftermath of the Yeosun Uprising. He showed the leadership of the crisis which was focused on the national security rather than the national legitimacy issues. Seeing the significance of the legitimacy question for Korean people, the dissolution of Banmin Teugwi, however,left the unfortunate historical legacy and the deep wounds on the Korean contemporary history. Consequently, even if the national security and policing problem were urgent, I propose that Syngman Rhee should have avoided his confrontation leadership and uncompromising attitude. I suggest that he should have appealed more actively to the people and the National assembly the difficulty of running of the Chinilpa prosecution in that situation. Considering other cases of his political dialogues, Syngman Rhee were weak in persuasion and compromise. The Syngman's political support began to be undermined after the dissolution of BanminTeugwi. The National assembly continued to pursue a constitutional amendment with a view to reducing his political power. This conflict came to burst out on the occasion of the 3.15 fraudulent election in 1960 at last.