Volta
PoliticsJanuary – June 1923

National Representatives' Conference

Delegates of the independence movement at home and abroad met in Shanghai to decide the future of the Provisional Government. The "creation" and "reform" factions clashed and the conference broke up.

The yeontongje and gyotongguk had collapsed, diplomacy had failed, and Syngman Rhee was criticized for petitioning the US president for a League of Nations mandate. At the conference from January 1923 the "creation" faction of Sin Chae-ho and Park Yong-man wanted a new government, while Ahn Chang-ho’s "reform" faction wanted to reform the existing one. No agreement was reached and many activists left the government.

In 1925 the Provisional Assembly impeached Rhee, elected Park Eun-sik second president and amended the constitution to a cabinet system under a State Councillor (first holder Yi Sang-ryong). In 1927 it moved to collective leadership by the State Council, and Kim Gu kept the government alive, seeking a breakthrough with the Korean Patriotic Organization.

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The map in 1923

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Places
Provisional Government Building, Shanghai

People

  • Ahn Chang-ho1878 – 1938

    leader · Founder of the Sinminhoe and the Heungsadan; as Interior Minister of the Provisional Government he set up the yeontongje network

  • Sin Chae-ho1880 – 1936

    participant · Nationalist historian who wrote the Ancient History of Joseon and the Declaration of the Korean Revolution; died in Lüshun Prison

  • Park Yong-man1881 – 1928

    participant · Founded the Korean National Brigade in Hawaii to train for armed struggle; a "creation" faction leader in 1923

  • Syngman Rhee1875 – 1965

    related figure · First President of the Provisional Government, who worked through diplomacy in the US; later first President of the Republic of Korea

  • Park Eun-sik1859 – 1925

    related figure · Nationalist historian, author of the Painful History of Korea, and second President of the Provisional Government

  • Yi Sang-ryong1858 – 1932

    related figure · Head of the Imcheonggak house of Andong, founder of the Gyeonghaksa and first State Councillor of the Provisional Government

  • Kim Gu1876 – 1949

    related figure · Known as Baekbeom; founded the Korean Patriotic Organization and led the Liberation Army as Chairman of the Provisional Government

Before and after

Earlier
1923 The Three Administrations and the Mitsuya Agreement
Later
1923 Hyeongpyeong Movement