Syngman Rhee had gained fame as a militant Korean nationalist when he became the first president of the Republic of Korea (ROK), or South Korea, on July 20, 1948. In 1897, he led an anti-Japanese demonstration that resulted in his arrest and a sentence of life in prison. In 1904, a royal amnesty brought his release. Rhee fled to the United States and earned a doctorate at Princeton University in 1911, one year after Korea became part of the Japanese Empire. While Rhee remained in exile, Koreans resisted colonial rule, culminating in Japan’s brutal suppression of the March First Rebellion in 1919. That year, Korean leaders formed the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) and elected Rhee as president. After the KPG impeached him for misusing funds, Rhee established the Korean Commission in Washington, D.C., to lobby for Korean independence.
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