Syngman Rhee
In May 1948, Syngman Rhee, who had previously lived in the United States, won the election for president, which had been boycotted by most other politicians and in which voting was limited to property owners and tax payers or, in smaller towns, to town elders voting for everyone else. Syngman Rhee, backed by the U.S. government, set up authoritarian rule that coordinated closely with big business and lasted until the 1980s.