Ham Tae-young, sometimes Hahm Tae Young, (October 22, 1873 – October 24, 1964) was a South Korean politician, pastor and leader of the

Presbyterian Church of Korea Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) was a Protestant denomination based in South Korea; it is currently separated into many branches. History The first Korean Presbyterian church was founded by Seo Sang-ryun in Hwanghae province in 1884. Short ...

. He was the third

vice president of South Korea The vice president of the Republic of Korea was the second highest executive office in South Korea. The position was abolished in 1960. The following is a list of vice presidents of South Korea since its independence. To avoid confusion, all th ...

from 1952 to 1956. He was also a judge during the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...

and an independence leader during

Korea under Japanese rule Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...

. He was one of the organizers of the

March 1st Movement The March 1st Movement, also known as the Sam-il (3-1) Movement (Hangul: 삼일 운동; Hanja: 三一運動), was a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan in 1919, and protesting forced assimilation ...

. During his tenure as a judge, he reversed the death sentence of the young

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

, who became the first president of South Korea four decades later. After the Korean Empire fell and was annexed by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Ham devoted his life to getting his country back. He was one of the 48 representatives of the March 1st Movement and was jailed several times. Ham was also active as a leader of

Christianity in Korea The practice of Christianity in Korea is marginal in North Korea, but significant in South Korea, where it revolves around two of its largest branches, Protestantism and Catholicism, accounting for 8.6 millionAccording to figures compiled by ...

, clashed often with

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

, and resisted

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

rituals imposed by the Japanese government. After Korea became independent following Japan's defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Ham was heavily involved in the founding of

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

and expanding Christian institutions. Ham's first position in the new government was the president of the audit committee. Rhee asked Ham to be his running mate at the height of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and the two won the election. Ham retired from public service and received

Order of Merit for National Foundation The Order of Merit for National Foundation (Hangul: 건국훈장) is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea for "outstanding meritorious services in the interest of founding or laying a foundation for th ...

. Ham died of natural causes at the age of 91 and it was observed for 7 days in a type of

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

. One of his sons

Hahm Pyong-Choon Ham or Hahm is a Western and Korean surname. In 2000 in South Korea, there were approximately 75,955 people with this surname. It is also used in North Korea. Although some sources claim there are as many as sixty Ham clans, only the Gangneung H ...

later became a prominent South Korean politician and scholar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ham, Taeyoung 1873 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Christian clergy Korean Christians Korean independence activists Korean revolutionaries Vice presidents of South Korea South Korean Presbyterians Korean prosecutors Korean judges