The Workers' Party of South Korea () was a communist party in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

from 1946 to 1949. It is also sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Namro Party" (). It was founded on 23 November 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea, New People's Party of Korea 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 Lyuh Woon-hyung (; 25 May 1886 – 19 July 1947), also known by his art name Mongyang (), was a Korean independence movem ...

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

Ho Hon Ho Hon (; 22 July 1885 – 16 August 1951) was a Korean independence activist and politician of the Japanese colonial period and early years of North Korea. As a lawyer, he defended independence activists along with Lee In and Kim Byong-ro. In ...

. The clandestine

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

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

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

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 Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

struggle. As the persecution of party intensified, large sections of the party leadership moved to

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

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

general strike A general strike is 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 coalitions ...

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

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

, against the unilateral declaration of the foundation of South Korea. In the suppression of the revolt, thousands of islanders were killed, largely by forces of the South Korean Government. In one of its first official acts, the South Korean National Assembly 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, forming the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

. 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 led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

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

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, 60,000 to 200,000 members of the party and suspected communist supporters, many of them civilians, were massacred by the South Korean Army with supervision of the US army in what became known as the Bodo League massacre. Pak Hon-yong and other leaders of WPSK in North Korea were later purged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Workers' Party of South Korea Banned communist parties Banned political parties in South Korea Organizations banned under the National Security Act (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