Song Jin-woo

Song Jin-woo (, 8 May 1889 – 30 December 1945) was a Korean independence activist, journalist, and politician. His art name was Goha . He was the 3rd, 6th and 8th CEO of the Dong-a Ilbo and the founding leader of the Korea Democratic Party.

In 1945, he was assassinated by , a member of the far-right terrorist group the White Shirts Society.

Early life Song was born on 8 May 1889 in Damyang, South Jeolla Province, Joseon. He was the fourth son of father Song Hun , and mother (surname Yang ). His is the .

Career

In 1916, he became the vice principal of the , which Kim had taken over, in Seoul. He later became its principal. In 1918, Song and several others began plotting an uprising against the Japanese colonial government. After the March 1st Movement protests of 1919, Song was arrested and held at Seodaemun Prison. He spent a year and a half in prison, until he was acquitted of all charges and released around October 1920. After the beginning of the Pacific War, on 8 December 1941, the Governor-General began conscripting Korean students to fight in the war. Frustrated by his inability to speak out against this, Song privately wrote that "The Dong-a Ilbo is my mouth, my ears, my breathing nose, my hands, and my feet. How can a man with all of those parts sliced off do anything!"

After the liberation of Korea After the liberation of Korea, the office of the Governor-General began planning its departure and hand off of control to Korean institutions. The security office had three Korean candidates that they felt who could handle their work: Song, Lyuh Woon-hyung, and Ahn Chai-hong. In mid-August, the head of security reached out to Song and offered him the position, which came with control over newspapers, broadcasting, transportation, and security. Song refused it. Associates of Song, such as , questioned the wisdom of the decision. According to historian , Song viewed the position as being akin to the role of Wang Jingwei in the Japanese puppet state. The position was then offered to Lyuh, who accepted it.

Lyuh founded the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPKI). Lyuh asked Song on a number of occasions to join, but Song refused. On one occasion, their disagreements escalated into a shouting match. To counter the CPKI, Song became the founding leader of the (NFPC) on 7 September and the Korea Democratic Party on 16 September.

In December of that year, the Moscow Conference was held. Afterwards, the United States and Soviet Union announced that they had failed to negotiate the reunification of Korea and that the peninsula would be occupied for 5 years. This roused up the . On the evening of 29 December, Song and members of the Korean Provisional Government held a furious meeting on the results of the conference.

Death Around 6:00 a.m. on 30 December 1945, Song was assassinated by a group of seven men. Among them was , a member of the right-wing terrorist group the White Shirts Society.

Legacy and awards On 1 March 1963, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, third grade.

Popular culture Portrayed by actor Park Geun-hyung in the 1981–82 TV series, 1st Republic.