Rhee's Round

THE ALLIES

Syngman Rhee knows how to wait. Exiled in Hawaii and the U.S. (where he got his Ph.D. at Princeton), he outwaited the Japanese for some 40 years; last week after a much shorter time he outwaited the U.N., which was condemning him, and outwitted his own South Korean opponents, who were doing their best to unseat him.

First, after holding martial law over their heads for five weeks, he had the Assembly renew his presidency for an indefinite term (in violation of the constitution which required that the Assembly elect a new President by June 23). Rhee invited some moderates among the opposition to a party at a hot springs resort near Pusan, to talk over ways & means of compromising their difficulties. After the party, 37 of them were driven to the Assembly hall and furnished a silent, glum quorum while the 60-man pro-Rhee minority voted unanimously for their boss.

Narrow Escape. Next day, as Rhee addressed 6,000 people at a meeting commemorating the second anniversary of the Korean war, an elderly Korean rose from his seat at the rear of the platform, advanced toward Rhee, a German automatic in hand. U.S. Lieut. Colonel Herbert Harmon stuck out his foot, tripping the assassin. As the Korean went down, Colonel Harmon clouted him in the neck, and another American officer disarmed the man. The silent scuffle escaped the crowd's notice, but Rhee's crony, Lee Bum Suk, the ambitious Home Minister, saw it all and interrupted his boss to tell the breathless crowd of the President's narrow escape. Twenty-eight minutes later, pro-Rhee newspapers were on the streets with extras--something of a record, and lending point to those who thought the murder attempt was staged. Police identified the assassin as a onetime member of a Chinese terrorist organization, and arrested an Assemblyman who was said to have confessed to putting the old fellow up to it.

Tearful Assemblymen. The next day, 600 of Rhee's supporters besieged the Assembly, caught 80 anti-Rhee members inside and demanded that they resign or else. For five hours and 15 minutes, the legislators huddled in fear, while Rhee's police stood by. Finally Lee Bum Suk showed up, and ordered his men to shove back the demonstrators and let the legislators leave. Completely intimidated, some walked out with tears in their eyes.

As he became surer of himself, Rhee became more magnanimous. He conceded that previously he had been too busy to explain his case and forgave the U.S. and the U.N. for their earlier notes of protest. He agreed to let the Voice of America resume broadcasting. He even denounced the press censorship which had been operating for three weeks. Said Rhee innocently: "Such practices, if they exist, must be abolished immediately."

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