Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence
1945 organization in South Korea
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The Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (Korean: 조선건국준비위원회; Hanja: 朝鮮建國準備委員會) was an organization centered around figures such as Lyuh Woon-hyung, created for the purpose of taking over executive authority from the Governor-General of Chōsen during the Allied Military Government from 15 August to 7 September 1945.[1] Its abbreviated name is the “Preparatory Committee,” and its headquarters were located in Gye-dong, Seoul.
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Overview
On the evening of 15 August 1945, Lyuh Woon-hyung established the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (Preparatory Committee), based on the National Establishment Alliance that he had formed a year prior in August 1944. Lyuh Woon-hyung assumed the position of Committee Chairperson, with Ahn Chai-hong serving as Vice-Chairperson, Jeong Baek serving as Organization Chief, Choi Geun-u serving as Chief of General Affairs, Lee Gyu-gap serving as Chief of Financial Affairs, Jo Dong-ho serving as Chief of Publicity, and Kwon Tae-seok serving as Chief of Enforcement.[2] Incidentally, the one who first proposed the name, “Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence,” was Ahn Chai-hong.
The mission statement of the Preparatory Committee included the following three points:
- “We resolve to establish a completely independent nation.”
- “We resolve to found a democratic administration capable of realizing the basic political and social demands of all ethnic groups.”
- “We resolve to independently maintain domestic order and secure the livelihood of the masses throughout this temporary transitional period.” [2]
At the time of its establishment, Lyuh Woon-hyung’s younger brother, Lyuh Woon-hong, described the organization as composed of: “The extreme left of Communist Party members; non-communist leftists, or moderate socialists; right-wingers such as Ahn Chai-hong and Lee Gyu-gap; and figures such as Jang Gwon and Song Gyu-hwan, who unconditionally support Lyuh Woon-hyung as an elder brother figure.” [3]
On 4 September 1945, a plenary session was held, and there was a reorganization of the executive committee, including the appointment of lawyer Ho Hon as vice chairperson. On the evening of 6 September, the Preparatory Committee gathered in a lecture hall at Kyunggi Girls’ High School with over 1000 people in attendance, and after the withdrawal of Ahn Chai-hong and the nationalist faction, the communist and socialist wings seized control and declared the establishment of the People’s Republic of Korea.[4] The Preparatory Committee became that governmental organization (the People’s Committees), and on 7 October was subsequently dissolved into the People’s Republic Executive Committee.[3]