Second Korean Civil War

The Second Korean Civil War was a conflict that lasted between 1957 to 1959 which involved the Republic of Korea against the Communist forces of the Workers' Party of Korea and its ally the Socialist Soviet Republic of the Pacific. It was the second communist rebellion within Korea since the First Civil War ended in 1951.
The war began after a series of protests and strikes that tried to force out President Syngman Rhee, this opposition was initially not a wholly communist affair and many liberals, socialists and even some conservatives took part. However Rhee, having been emboldened by his success in the previous civil war, used brutal measures to try and suppress the protests before they could gain traction.
Those methods only emboldened the opposition to Rhee and, before he could react, the communists within and outside Korea took advantage of the rapidly destabilising position the peninsula found itself in. The year after the civil war began Syngman Rhee was assassinated - ostensibly by a communist, but rumours persist of it being an ultranationalist- or military-backed murder.
== Warfare ==
=== Assassination of Rhee ===
In 1958, less than a year into the civil war and amidst communists making gains throughout the Korean peninsula, President Syngman Rhee was assassinated in the Gyeong Mu Dae. The assailant wasn't captured but they left behind a banner which represented the Workers' Party of Korea, however since this event many have questioned if it was in fact the power-hungry Lee Beom-seok who had him assassinated so as to allow his own rise to power, while also being able to whip up fervour against the communists.
=== The Final Push South ===
By May 1959 the Communist forces had pushed the American-Korean forces southwards, surrounding them at the Pusan Perimeter. Despite attempts to breakout from the encirclement, the OFN forces failed in their attempts. Despite calls from some in the Army to use nuclear weapons against the communist forces, President Estes Kefauver rejected the idea.
Instead, as it became increasingly apparent the OFN forces couldn't defeat the communists, plans were made to evacuate as many of the pro-American Korean forces to Jeju Island as they could, as well as the Korean government. Though the Americans were wary of President Lee Beom-seok, he was evacuated to continue a pro-OFN regime on the small island south of the peninsula.
Category:Conflicts
Category:Conflicts involving Korea
Category:Conflicts involving the SSRP