THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO THE UNITED STATES-REPUBLIC OF KOREA MILITARY ALLIANCE: IMPACTS ON US-ROK RELATIONS AND SOUTH KOREAN POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, 1960-69 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY DANIEL J. OH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS DECEMBER 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi ABSTRACT ix INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I. A Relationship Forged in Blood: A History of Access and Integration 28 1. Pillars of the US-ROK Military Alliance 30 1.1. The US-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty 31 1.2.Operational Control 37 2. Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command 42 2.1. Foundations of Power 43 2.2. Direct Channels to Senior Government Leaders 57 2.3. American Centers of Power in the ROK 71 3. The General’s Lobby 77 3.1. The Lobby in Action 80 CHAPTER II. The ROK Military’s New Battlefield: Entering the Political Fray 91 1. The Republic of Korea’s Armed Forces 94 1.1. A Brief History 94 1.2. Links with the US Military 96 2. The April 1960 Student Revolution 106 2.1. The ROK Government on the Eve of Revolution 107 2.2. The Revolution Commences 116 ii 3. The Fall of the First Republic 135 3.1. The Revolution Succeeds 136 3.2. Assessing the “Winners” 130 3.3. The Aftermath 148 4. Conclusion: Identifying the Links 157 CHAPTER III. The May 16th Coup: American Operational Control at the Brink 160 1. The ROK on the Eve of Military Revolution 164 1.1. Assessing the Second Republic 165 1.2. The Coup in Retrospect 172 2. Phase I: The First Seventy-Two Hours of the May 16th Revolution 176 2.1. Exercising the CINCUNC’s Authority 180 2.2. The Demise of the ROK’s Second Republic 192 3. Phase II: Paving the Way Towards USG Acceptance 199 3.1. The Communist Factor 201 3.2. The Preservation of OPCON 203 4. Postlude: The CINCUNC’s Retrospection 224 4.1. Understanding the Coup’s Success 226 CHAPTER IV. The Park Regime’s Early Years: The Alliance and the Pursuit of Political Stability 229 1. The Quest for Legitimacy Part I: Leveraging Military Ties to Preserve US Support 237 1.1. Key Appointments 238 1.2. Preserving OPCON 245 1.3. Prisoner Releases 248 iii 2. The Quest for Legitimacy Part II: Overcoming Internal Regime Instability 251 2.1. The “Young” versus “Old” 253 2.2. The Internal Struggle for Power 259 3. The Uncertain Path Towards Presidential Elections 264 3.1. The Movement against Kim Jong-pil 264 3.2. Extending Military Rule or Holding Elections 272 3.3. The Third Republic on the Brink 280 4. Conclusion: Why Park? 285 CONCLUSION 289 4.1. The Alliance’s Growing Symbolic Importance 291 4.2. Reaping the Benefits of a Symbolically Important Alliance 295 BIBLIOGRAPHY 300 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS A/S FE Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs CGEUSA Commanding General, Eighth United States Army CINCPAC Commander in Chief, Pacific Command CINCUNC Commander in Chief, United Nations Command CINCUSARPAC Commander in Chief, United States Army Pacific CJCS Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff CNO Chief of Naval Operations COMUSFK Commander, United States Forces Korea CSA Chief of Staff, Army DOD Department of Defense DOS Department of State EUSA Eighth United States Army FOMIN Foreign Minister FROKA First Republic of Korea Army JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff KCIA Korean Central Intelligence Agency KMAG Korean Military Advisory Group MAP Military Assistance Program MDT Mutual Defense Treaty MINDEF Minister of Defense MND Ministry of National Defense MRC Military Revolutionary Council NSC National Security Council OPCON Operational Control ROKA Republic of Korea Army ROKAF Republic of Korea Air Force ROKMC Republic of Korea Marine Corps ROKN Republic of Korea Navy SCNR Supreme Council for National Reconstruction SECDEF Secretary of Defense SROKA Second Republic of Korea Army UNC United Nations Command v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Truth be told, my original love for history focused on Europe. As a cadet at the United States Military Academy, the histories of Ancient Greece, the Roman Republic, the Hundred Years War, and the British Empire barely satiated my thirst for historical knowledge. While my future as an Army officer was set, I had always hoped that a chance to continue my historical studies would present itself in the future. I was fortunate enough to receive such an opportunity after the History Department at West Point invited me back to become rotating faculty member. I still vividly remember receiving the offer letter in Iraq while I was commanding a company of over one-hundred and fifty fine Americans in northern Baghdad during the Surge. The only downside was that to my disappointment, the Department did not require any additional European historians. While I briefly contemplated refocusing my scholarly pursuits on the Middle East, I ultimately decided to explore the history of my ethnic heritage as a Korean-American. My father was especially pleased to hear that I chose to study East Asian history. I recalled his love for books, often seeing him reading historical fiction set in Ancient China. I believe that he was especially fond of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms period. As a gift, he bought me a book on Korean history while I was still deployed so I could get a head start on my studies. The book that he sent me was none other than Professor Bruce Cumings’ Korea’s Place in the Sun. Little did I realize while opening that dusty Amazon box was that within a year, I would find myself at the University of Chicago taking a seminar on Korean history taught by Professor Cumings. The list of people to thank is long but I would be remiss if I did not start with Professor Cumings. I could not have asked for a better teacher, advisor, and mentor as a young Army officer pushed to expand my thinking into the realm of academia. To say that I learned much vi from him is nothing less than a gross understatement. I will always remember the respect that Professor Cumings held for my profession, even being kind enough to conduct a special lecture on North Korea while I was teaching at West Point. Our discussions over numerous books in preparation for my field examination and the constructive feedback received as I inched towards dissertation completion were not only helpful, but also challenged me to expand the limits of knowledge and understanding. I was also fortunate to have two other exceptional scholars and teachers, Professor Mark Bradley and Professor Michael Geyer, as committee members. The courses I took in International History taught by Professor Bradley provided me a firm foundation on the Cold War and Vietnam, which served me well as I attempted to place my Korea-specific topic into a regional context. Professor Geyer’s questions always pushed me to refine my arguments while also illuminating areas that I had not even remotely considered. I am also thankful to the wonderful staff within the University of Chicago’s History Department. David Goodwine and Sonja Rusnak were a tremendous help throughout the process, always responsive and willing to assist when asked. Last but certainly not least, I want to thank my amazing wife, Day. The number of children went from zero to two in the period between my dissertation proposal and dissertation defense. While definitely unwise in retrospect, I remember well dragging her and our beautiful daughter Adelyn, barely one-month old at the time, on research trips to Boston, DC, and College Park. I would not have been able to finish my dissertation within the last year without her ably holding down the proverbial fort as we both experienced the joys (and challenges) of a second child as our son Ethan entered our lives. My wife was always there to encourage me during the vii weariest of days while also nudging me to stay on course when I was ready to temporarily throw in the towel. This dissertation is as much Day’s as my own. Finally, I only hope that one day, Adelyn and Ethan will read this dissertation and realize that there is a rich history that is an innate part of their lives as Korean-Americans. The odds of them both becoming historians may be a long shot. Having them develop an interest and perhaps even a love for history, however, will more than suffice. viii ABSTRACT The overall objective of this project is to investigate the US-ROK military alliance’s influence on the political development of South Korea and the course of bilateral relations during the 1960s. This decade is of special interest due to its turbulent nature. The forceful changes of Korean governments in 1960 and 1961 ushered in a period of deep political uncertainty. Despite the ease of the May 16th, 1961 coup led by Major General Park Chung Hee, his military government experienced multiple shocks early on that threatened its existence. It was not until 1965 that Park could rule with relative confidence, which also initiated a honeymoon period of US-ROK relations under the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. The US, even before the military coup, sought to reevaluate its policy towards the ROK under the newly elected John F. Kennedy administration. The new administration pushed for increased self-reliance of its allies, which for the ROK, translated into potential cuts in military and economic assistance. Following the coup, both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations also contended with the rising nationalistic tendencies of the military regime.