Yi Tong-hwi (이동휘, Yi Dong-hwi), is considered the father of Korean communism. He was one of the first to join the Bolshevisks in the Russian Maritime Province, having met Alexandra Kim and being influenced by her. He, Alexandra Kim, and Pak Chin-sun (박진순), along with an individual called “Krepkov,” helped set up the Hanin Sahoedang (한인 사회당) (Korean Socialist Party) in Khabarovsk, Russia. This party is considered the very first Korean socialist party. He headed the party.
He is considered the second Korean communist, having met Alexandra Kim and learning about Marxism through her influence.
He would eventually travel to Shanghai to participate in the newly formed Korean Provisional Government as Prime Minister.
His group would later be accused by Kim Chol-hun, from the Irkutsk party, of being bourgeois nationalists who only used communism as a way to further Korean independence rather than actually advocating for a communist cause.
Within the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai, Yi fought against a powerful group, headed by Syngman Rhee, that advocated for non-violent means of combating Japanese aggression. Yi advocated for violent force to be used instead and proposed that Koreans be organized and trained in Manchuria and Siberia to fight the Japanese garrison and eventually move into Korea.
Yi would eventually resign from his post as Premier and went to Peking.
Having received a generous fund from the Comintern in December, on January 10, 1921, Yi held a meeting with delegates of the old Korean Socialist Party and changed the title of the party to Koryo Kongsan-tang (Korean Communist Party). They worked out a party declaration, platform, and party rules, and set forth to distribute translated copies of the Communist Manifesto, the Russian Political Platform, and the Russian Constitution, as well as other pamphlets.
The party declared eternal support of the truth declared by Marx and Engels, and correctly identified Japanese imperialism as a result of capitalism. The party went on to declare the enemies of the Korean proletariat as not only the Japanese bourgeoisie but all exploiters of the working class (including Korean bourgeoisie). The duty of the Korean communists (as well as the emerging Japanese and Chinese communist parties) did not stop at national liberation but the realization of a new society in their respective countries.
In the five-point Korean Party Platform, they addressed the root of all evil to be the system of capitalism and in Korea, the capitalistic system of free competition would be abolished by:
- nationalization of all industries
- free and compulsory education for all
- compulsory labor for men and women
- emancipation of women
- confiscation of all the property of capitalists
Yi financially assisted the Japanese, Chinese, and Formosan communist movements from Shanghai with funds received from the Comintern (under Voitinsky)
There was a lot of tension between Yi and the all but defunct Provisional Government, with many of the Nationalists demanding use of the money. Additionally, there was also disputes between Yi’s Shanghai faction and the Irkutsk faction over money. Yi was accused of embezzling money and many young communists turned away from him.
The Alexeyevsk Incident on June 26, 1921, where Yi’s Shanghai faction and the primarily Russian-Korean-led Irkutsk faction battled for hegemony over the korean communist movement, caused many supporters of Yi (both Nationalists and compatriots alike) to turn their back on him.
https://ko.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%9D%B4%EB%8F%99%ED%9C%98