The Workers' Party of South Korea ( ko, 남조선로동당) was a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

from 1946 to 1949. It was founded on 23 November 1946 through the merger of the

Communist Party of South Korea The Communist Party of Korea () was a communist party in Korea. It was founded during a secret meeting in Seoul in 1925. The Governor-General of Korea had banned communist and socialist parties under the Peace Preservation Law (see History of Kor ...

New People's Party of Korea The New People's Party of Korea () was a communist party in Korea. It was formed on 16 February 1946 by Korean Communists who had been exiled in China, later known as the Yan'an faction. The New People's Party had more moderate positions in some ...

and a faction of the

People's Party of Korea The People's Party of Korea (, ) was a moderate left-wing political party created on November 12, 1945 by Lyuh Woon-Hyung. The People's Party did not claim to exclusively represent a particular class; instead, it tried to represent the entire Kor ...

(the so-called 'forty-eighters'). It was led by

Ho Hon Ho Hon ( ko, 허헌; 22 July 1885 – 16 August 1951) was a Korean independence activist in Japanese controlled Korea and politician in the early years of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). As a lawyer, he defended indepen ...

. The party was outlawed by the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

occupation authorities due to the party being an aggravating opposition to South Korea and the US, but the party organized a network of clandestine cells and was able to obtain a considerable following. It had around 360,000 party members. In 1947, the party initiated armed guerrilla struggle. As the persecution of party intensified, large sections of the party leadership moved to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. The party was opposed to the formation of a South Korean state. In February–March 1948, it instigated

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

s in opposition to the plans to create a separate South Korean state. On 3 April 1948, the party led a

popular uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

on Jeju island, against the unilateral declaration of the foundation of the

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 ...

. In the suppression of the revolt, thousands of islanders were killed (see Jeju massacre), largely by forces of the South Korean Government. In one of its first official acts, the

South Korean National Assembly The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. T ...

passed the National Security Act in September 1948, which among other measures, outlawed the Workers' Party of South Korea. On 24 June 1949, the party merged with the

Workers' Party of North Korea The Workers' Party of North Korea () was a communist party in North Korea from 1946 to 1949 and was a predecessor of the current Workers' Party of Korea. It was founded at a congress on 28–30 August 1946, by the merger of the northern branch ...

, forming the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

. The WPNK leader

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

became party chairman, whereas Pak Hon-yong became deputy chairman. In 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 ...

, members of the party and people suspicious of being a communist supporter were massacred by the South Korean Army with supervision of the US army in what became known as the

Bodo League massacre The Bodo League massacre () was a massacre and war crime against communists and suspected sympathizers (many of whom were civilians who had no connection with communism or communists) that occurred in the summer of 1950 during the Korean War. Es ...

with up to 200,000 people. Pak Hon-yong and other leaders of WPSK in North Korea were later

purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...

d. The clandestine

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

movement, the All Korea Labor Union (''Chŏnp'yŏng'') was connected to the party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Workers' Party of South Korea Banned communist parties Banned political parties in South Korea Defunct political parties in South Korea Workers' Party of South Korea Defunct communist parties Far-left politics in South Korea History of the Workers' Party of Korea Political parties established in 1946