Evening star., 1960-04-20
Crisis in Korea

II the State Department is trying
to bring down the government of Syng-
man Rhee in its hour of crisis, the lee
ture which Mr.. Herter has addressed to
the South Korean Ambassador makes
certain amount of sense. If this is
not the case there is a notable out-of-
this-world quality about the Secretary's
dissertation on what is and what is not
suited to a "free democracy"
OF course, there is nothing resem-
bling a free democracy in Korea, as
that term is used in this country And
we don't think there will be, in Korea
or in many other Asian countries, for
long time to come.
Nevertheless, certain facts appear
to be clear. One is that Mr.. Rhee's Lib
eral party, even assuming strong-arm
tactics, won an overwhelming popular
Endorsement last March IS. According
to the announced results, 81 per cent
of the eligible Korean voters cast bal
lots and 9.5 million of these were for
Mr.. Rhee. 1t appears that about IL
million ballots were marked for his
opponent, who died in the United States
shortly before the election. More sig
niflcantly, Mr.. Rhee's hand-picked run
ming mate, Lee Ki-poong, received 80
million votes to 1.8 million for his Demo-
cratic opponent, John M. Chang. Some
100000 vice presidential ballots were
declared invalid, and presumably may
have been cast for Mr.. Chang.
Is this statement of the voting re-
suits, released by the Korean Election
Committee, false? Our State Depart
ment makes no such claim. And if it
Is not false, can the One-SidedneSS of
the outcome be attributed to strong
arm tactics? We doubt it very much.
The probability is that Mr.. RheeS party
was chosen by clear-cut majority.
What are the facts about the riot
Ing, which began in less serious form
a month ago? According to the ASSo-
ciated Press, police counter-measureS
at first were relatively restrained. This
seemed to encourage the mobS. This
week, when the heavy loss of life oc-
Cured, the mobs were on the verge
of taking over Seoul. Led by high school
and college students, they stormed
through the streets, stoning police,
burning buildings and communicating
police cars. Some 500 students swarmed
over barbed-Wire barricade in front
Of the official residence of President
Rhee. At that point the police opened
fire and many members of the mob
were killed or wounded.
This was deplorable. But at that
stage one of two choices was available
bow to mob rule or use force. We
think it was necessary to use force, and
that force will continue to be necessary
until order Is restored. The alternative
is for the Rhee government to abdicate,
and we do not suppose this is what the
State Department wants. Nevertheless,
Mr.. Herter's pronouncements will serve
to encourage the rioterS-a most un-
fortunate result, unless the State De-
partment is in possession of justifying
facts which it has not revealed.
If the issue is the alleged fraud in
the election, that question is before the
Korean courts. And unless the State
Department also thinks these courts are
corrupt, it ought to await their verdict
before indulging in further disSerta-
tions on the virtues of free elections"
1t should also bear in mind that South
Korea has just recently been through
a shattering war, and that it is still
very much under the Communist guns.
Even today, the climate in Seoul is
hardly conducive to the kind of free
democracy" which is able to flourish in
Washington.