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The United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK) was a body that oversaw elections in U.S.-controlled
The United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK) was a body that oversaw elections in U.S.-controlled South 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 eas ...
in May 1948. The commission initially was composed of nine nations, and Australia, Canada and Syria played a dissenting role, resisting US plans to hold separate elections in South Korea. That position was in line with Korean moderates Kim Ku and Kim Kyu-sik
Kim Kyu-sik, also spelled Kimm Kiusic ( Korean:김규식, Hanja:金奎植, January 29, 1881 – December 10, 1950), was a Korean politician and academic during the Korean independence movement and a leader of the Provisional Government of the ...
.
In North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, the body was not even recognized, with the Soviets arguing that the commission would break the 1945 Moscow Accords. The Soviets also argued that it violated Articles 32 and 107 of the UN Charter
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: th ...
. Article 32 requires that both sides of the dispute be consulted, but Korean representatives from North and South Korea were never invited to address the UN. Also, Article 107 denied jurisdiction to the UN over postwar settlement issues.
See also
* Dr. George Patterson Canadian representative for UNTCOK * 1948 South Korean general electionReferences
* Korean War Cold War organizations {{UN-stub