Yun Po-sun (; or ; August 26, 1897 – July 18, 1990) was a South Korean

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and activist who served as the second

president of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and ...

from 1960 to 1962. He was the only president of the parliamentary Second Republic of Korea. Having entered politics after

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Yun served as Secretary to Korea's

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

in 1947; and was

Mayor of Seoul The Mayor of Seoul () is the chief executive of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul being the capital and largest city of South Korea. The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budg ...

in 1948. He served as

Commerce Minister A Commerce minister (sometimes business minister, industry minister, trade minister or international trade minister) is a position in many governments that is responsible for regulating external trade and promoting economic growth (commercial polic ...

for the newly liberated Korea from 1949 to 1950. In 1955, Yun helped establish the South Korean Democratic Party. He was forced to resign the presidency by

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

as a result of the

May 16 coup The May 16 military coup d'état () was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung-hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do ...

in 1961.

Early life

Yun Po-sun was born in Dunpo-myeon,

Asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown int ...

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청남도, ''Chungcheongnam-do''), also known as Chungnam, is a province of South Korea. South Chungcheong has a population of 2,059,871 (2014) and has a geographic area of 8,204 km2 (3,168 sq mi) located in ...

in 1897. He was a son of Yun Chi-so (윤치소, 尹致昭, 1871–1944) and Lady Yi Beom-suk (이범숙, 李範淑, 1876–1969). Yun Chiso is the second son of

Yun Yeong-ryeol Yun Yeong-ryeol(윤영렬, 1854 – 1939) was a Korean Joseon Dynasty politician and soldier. nickname was Gyungjae, Yeongu. uncle of Yun Chi-ho and grandfather of Yun Bo-seon, father of Yun Chi-young. Life Yun was born in 1854 as a member of Ha ...

(윤영렬;尹英烈). Yun Yeong-ryeol is an 8th generation descendant of the prominent Joseon scholar-official

Yun Doo-su Yun Du-su ( ko, 윤두수, 尹斗壽; 1533–1601) was a Korean scholar-official of the Joseon Kingdom. He was a politician, poet, writer, scholar, and part of the Yi Hwang school among Westerners (Hangul: 서인, Korean: Seoin). Among many othe ...

(윤두수;尹斗壽). Yun studied in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

in 1930. He returned to Korea in 1932.

Political career

Yun entered politics in 1945 following

Gwangbokjeol The National Liberation Day of Korea is a holiday celebrated annually on 15 August in both South and North Korea. It commemorates Victory over Japan Day, when the United States and the Soviet Union liberated Korea from 35 years of Japan ...

(Liberation Day). The first

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from Princeton University in Korea, as well as first President of South Korea, Dr.

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 ...

, was his

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

. By 1947, Yun was serving as Secretary to the Korean Chief of Staff. In 1948, Rhee appointed Yun to the position of mayor of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

. A year later, he was made Minister of Commerce and Industry. However, Yun soon began to disagree with Rhee's authoritarian policies. While serving as president of the

Red Cross Society The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest group of non-governmental organizations working on humanitarian aid, is composed of the following bodies: *The ''International Committee of the Red Cross'' (ICRC), a comm ...

, he was elected to the National Assembly in 1954. A year later, he co-founded the opposition South Korean Democratic Party. In 1959, he became a representative to the Supreme Council of the Democratic Party.

Presidency (1960-62)

Rhee's government was ousted by a student-led, pro-democracy uprising in 1960; and Yun was elected president by the newly elected parliament on August 13, with

Chang Myon Chang Myon (hangul: 장면; hanja: 張勉; August28, 1899June4, 1966) was a South Korean statesman, educator, diplomat, journalist and social activist as well as a Roman Catholic youth activist. He was the only prime minister of the parliament ...

as Prime Minister. In response to the authoritarian excesses of Rhee's regime, South Korea had switched to a parliamentary system; thus, Yun actually served merely as a figurehead. Following Park Chung Hee's coup in 1961, Yun stayed in his post in order to provide some legitimacy to the new regime, but resigned on March 22, 1962. In the following years, Yun received suspended sentences several times for anti-government activities. He opposed Park's authoritarian rule and ran for president twice, in 1963 and 1967, losing each time. Yun retired from active politics in 1980 and focused his life on cultural activities until his death on July 18, 1990.

Awards

* Grand Order of Mugunghwa * In-Cheon Cultural AwardNote: The

Kim Seong-su Kim Seong-su (김성수, 金性洙; October 11, 1891 – February 18, 1955) was a Korean educator, independence activist, journalist, entrepreneur, politician and calligrapher, and the second vice president of South Korea from 1951–1 ...

Memoriam

References

External links

Official website

Papyeong Yun clan website

Yun Posun
at Heonjeonghoe
Yun Posun
at

Encyclopedia of Korean Culture The ''Encyclopedia of Korean Culture'' is a Korean language encyclopedia published by the Academy of Korean Studies and DongBang Media Co. The articles in the encyclopedia are aimed at readers who want to learn about Korean culture and histor ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Po-sun 1897 births 1990 deaths People from South Chungcheong Province Presidents of South Korea South Korean civil rights activists Korean independence activists Government ministers of South Korea Alumni of the University of Edinburgh South Korean democracy activists Kim Kyu-sik Leaders ousted by a coup Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955) politicians South Korean anti-communists South Korean Presbyterians Korean revolutionaries Liberal Party (South Korea) politicians Mayors of Seoul Korean nationalists