The Democratic Party election poster for 1956 presidential election. The first Democratic Party of Korea emerged in 1955 as a coalition of various political factions opposing the growing tyranny of Rhee Syngman.
The man on left is Chang Myun, Vice Presidential candidate. The man on the right is Sin Ik-hui, presidential candidate. Sin died during presidential campaign, but Chang won the election, elected Vice President. This greatly angered Rhee regime as if elderly senile Rhee dies, Chang would take over. So, they enacted the most hideous election fraud in 1960 presidential election and that triggered April Revolution.
April Revolution resulted in Korea’s first liberal government and only parliamentary government under Chang Myun. Chang had a grand vision of state-led industrialization and created first 5-year economic development plan. But, Kennedy administration distrust on Chang Myun’s ability to contain “communists” and Democratic Party internal factionalism led to the 1961 May Coup led by Major-general Park Chung-hee go unnoticed, leading to the fall of Korea’s first democratic experiment.
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