Yun Bo-seon

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Yoon Po-son

In office
August 13, 1960 – March 22, 1962
Preceded by Syngman Rhee
Succeeded by Park Chung-hee

Born August 26, 1897
Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
Died July 18, 1990
Political party Democratic
Yun Bo-seon
Hangul:
윤보선
Hanja:
尹潽善
Revised Romanization: Yun Boseon
McCune-Reischauer: Yun Posŏn

Yoon Po-son (August 26, 1897July 18, 1990) was the President of South Korea from 1960 to 1962.

Born in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, Yoon graduated with an M.A. from the University of Edinburgh in 1930. He entered politics after Japanese occupation ended in 1945, with Syngman Rhee being his mentor. In 1948, Yoon was appointed by Rhee as mayor of Seoul. A year later, he was appointed as the Minister of Commerce and Industry. Soon, he started to disagree with Rhee's authoritarian policies. He then served as president of the Red Cross Society, before being elected to the National Assembly in 1954. A year later, he founded the opposition Democratic Party along with several others.

After Rhee's government was ousted by a student-led pro-democracy uprising, Yun was elected president on August 13, 1960. He was merely a figurehead, as South Korea had switched to a parliamentary system in response to the authoritarian excesses of Rhee's regime. After Park Chung Hee's coup in 1961, he stayed on briefly to provide legitimacy to the regime, but resigned on March 22, 1962. He opposed Park's authoritarian rule and ran for president twice in 1963 and 1967, losing each time. After receiving suspended sentences several times for anti-government activities, Yoon retired from politics in 1980 and focused primarily on cultural activities until his death from diabetic conditions and high blood pressure in 1990.

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Preceded by
Syngman Rhee
President of South Korea
1960–1962
Succeeded by
Park Chung-hee


Presidents of South Korea
Provisional Government: Rhee Syng-man | Park Eunsik | Yi Sang-ryong | Hong Jin | Yi Dong-nyung | Kim Gu
Republic: Rhee Syng-man | Yun Bo-seon | Park Chung-hee | Choe Kyu-hah | Chun Doo-hwan | Roh Tae-woo | Kim Young-sam | Kim Dae-jung | Roh Moo-hyun