Ham Tae-young

Ham Tae-young, sometimes Hahm Tae Young, (October 22, 1873 – October 24, 1964) was a South Korean politician, pastor and leader of the Presbyterian Church of Korea. He was Vice President of South Korea from 1952 to 1956. He was also a judge during the Korean Empire and an independence leader during Korea under Japanese rule. He was one of the organizers of the March 1st Movement.

Ham Tae-young 함태영
Vice President of South Korea
In office June 15, 1952 – August 14, 1956
Preceded by	Kim Seong-su
Succeeded by	Chang Myon
Personal details
Born	(1873-10-22)October 22, 1873 Musan, Hamgyŏng-do, Joseon
Died	October 24, 1964(1964-10-24) (aged 91) Seoul, South Korea
Nationality	Korean
Korean name
Hangul	함태영
Hanja	咸台永
Revised Romanization	Ham Tae-yeong
McCune–Reischauer	Ham T'ae-yŏng
Courtesy name
Hangul	송암
Hanja	松岩
Revised Romanization	Song-am
McCune–Reischauer	Song-am

During his tenure as a judge, he reversed the death sentence of the young Syngman Rhee, who became the first president of South Korea four decades later. After the Korean Empire fell and was annexed by Japan, Ham devoted his life to getting his country back. He was one of the 48 representatives of the March 1st Movement and was jailed several times. Ham was also active as a leader of Christianity in Korea, clashed often with Communists, and resisted Shinto rituals imposed by the Japanese government.

After Korea became independent following Japan's defeat in World War II, Ham was heavily involved in the founding of Republic of Korea and expanding Christian institutions. Ham's first position in the new government was the president of the audit committee. Rhee asked Ham to be his running mate at the height of the Korean War and the two won the election. Ham retired from public service and received Order of Merit for National Foundation. Ham died of natural causes at the age of 91 and it was observed for 7 days in a type of state funeral. One of his sons Hahm Pyong-Choon later became a prominent South Korean politician and scholar.