<P> On September 7, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur announced that Lieutenant General John R. Hodge was to administer Korean affairs, and Hodge landed in Incheon with his troops the next day . The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which had operated from China, sent a delegation with three interpreters to Hodge, but he refused to meet with them . Likewise, Hodge refused to recognize the newly formed People's Republic of Korea and its People's Committees, and outlawed it on 12 December . </P> <P> In September 1946, thousands of laborers and peasants rose up against the military government . This uprising was quickly defeated, and failed to prevent scheduled October elections for the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly . </P> <P> The ardent anti-communist Syngman Rhee, who had been the first president of the Provisional Government and later worked as a pro-Korean lobbyist in the US, became the most prominent politician in the South . Rhee pressured the American government to abandon negotiations for a trusteeship and create an independent Republic of Korea in the south . On July 19, 1947, Lyuh Woon - hyung, the last senior politician committed to left - right dialogue, was assassinated by a right - winger . </P> <P> The occupation government conducted a number of military campaigns against left - wing insurgents . Over the course of the next few years, between 30,000 and 100,000 people were killed . </P>

Why did the united states and soviet union split after the war