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| 1948, Jan. 8 |
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| A UN commission arrived in Seoul to supervise elections for the National Assembly. | 1 |
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| May 10 |
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| Elections were held in South Korea for the new National Assembly. The parties of the right gained a majority. The National Assembly met at Seoul (May 28). | 2 |
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| Aug. 15 |
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| THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (ROK) was founded, with Syngman Rhee as president. USAMGIK was officially terminated, and the new government entered into an agreement with the U.S. for the training of Korean military forces. | 3 |
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| Aug. 25 |
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The north held its own elections, and the DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (DPRK) was proclaimed in P'y ngyang (Sept. 9) with Kim Il-sng as premier. Both it and the ROK claimed to be the only legitimate Korean government. | 4 |
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| Nov |
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| The National Security Law was passed by the National Assembly. It was used by Syngman Rhee to silence his opposition by defining as Communist (or “seditious”) thousands of people who opposed his autocratic designs. The judicial establishment went along with Rhee's plans; by spring 1950, almost 60,000 persons were in jail, well over half for violating the National Security Law. | 5 |
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| Dec. 12 |
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| The UN General Assembly endorsed the government of South Korea as the only lawfully elected one and set up a commission to aid in the unification of the country. | 6 |
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| Dec. 25 |
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| The Soviet Union announced the complete withdrawal of its forces from North Korea. | 7 |
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