Memorandum from E. Allan Lightner

FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Action igned to RESTRICTED AIR POUCH For Dept. Action Taken use only. INFO Department of State Noted 21 Enclosures TR JUNE C classified) XMB D 13 PUSAN 183, May 29, 1951 Date of Action Any 7,195 DPA A WW .21/5-2951 C T EMBDES 150, May 4, 195Action Office Symbol 1jp FE 195b. 21/5-451 W o N Transmitting Summa: Name Proceedings of officer of the National Assembly I N of the Republic of Korge MD FR F IE oh E IE o DCR ag Com Eca FPB nsps Fullr OLI PO The Embassy transmits in twenty-one enclosures summaries of the Bu E meetings of the National Assembly during the period from April 29 to May 22, inclusive IE With this despatch, the Embassy concludes the series of periodic reviews UNA USUN of the Assembly's proceedings with enclosures of the daily Assembly Summaries in reproducible form. Henceforth, the highlights of the Assembly L MD proceedings will be reported in a new series of weekly Political Reviews which the Embassy will initiate with the week ending June 2. As has AG been done in the past, four copies of the daily Summaries of the Assembly's COMM proceedings in mimeograph form will be transmitted to the Department as ECA pouch facilities permit. The Embassy feels that under this procedure FRB the activities of the National Assembly will be adequately reported without LAB duplication and with the added advantage of having these activities NSRB related properly to other political events which take place during the TAR same period. During the period under review, the Assembly was called upon to accept the resignation of the Vice President and to elect his successor. On May 9 Vice President YI Shi-yung tendered his resignation to the Assembly, explaining that he no longer had any hopes of contributing to an improve- ment in the Administration. In an address to the Assembly, the Vice President suggested that it was the Assembly's duty to "clean house" in the Government. The resignation set off a wave of speeches criticizing the Government, but after first rejecting the resignation as a gesture of courtesy to the Vice President and perhaps as a protest against recent Administra ion policy, the Assembly voted to accept it. It then devolved upon the Assembly to elect a new Vice President, and this was done on May 16. There were two leading candidates for the office: YI Kap-song, who had the support of President Rhee, and KIM Song-su, a leader of the Democratic Nationalist Party which is considered to be the "opposition" party in the Assembly. Kim Song-su was elected by a slim majority. AC- cording to a reliable report, Kim's election resulted from a deal made and the Republican Club under which the latter group agreed to throw its the night before the election between the Democratic Nationalist Party support to the DNP candidate. Kim's election was, in effect, a defeat for the President Rhee, and the current political regrouping taking place in party can be considered as a repercussion of the election. (For further Assembly to consolidate the anti-DNP Assemblymen into one majority discussion itical of the Vice President's resignation, see Embassy's Weekly UN 3 1951 Review for week ending NOTE: 2New master made photographically This DC/R July 25,195! Delay caused 1951 Rillasthan:der by failure of post master to reproduce. ACTION COPY - DEPARTMENT OF STATE The action office must return this permanent record copy to DC/R files with an endorsement of action taken.