Ham Tae-young

Life

Ham was born in Musan, Hamgyeong Province, the son of Ham U-taek, a military officer. Musan was the home of his mother's family, while his paternal family had lived for generations in Gimje, North Jeolla Province; for this reason he is sometimes described as a native of Gimje. In 1895 he entered the first class of the Legal Training Institute, Korea's first modern institution for training legal professionals, and graduated at the top of his class. The following year he began his judicial career as a probationary prosecutor at the Hanseong Court. While serving as a prosecutor at the High Court, he was dismissed after declining to charge Yi Sang-jae and others arrested in the Independence Club affair with insurrection (the crime of attempting to overthrow the state) and instead treating them leniently. He was later reinstated and served as a prosecutor of the Pyeongniwon (Supreme Court) and as a judge of the Daesimwon, among other posts. After Korea lost its sovereignty in 1910, he withdrew from public office, and in 1912 he refused an appointment as a judge offered by the Japanese colonial authorities.

Around 1909 he became so seriously ill with osteosarcoma (a cancer of the bone) that he was hospitalized at Severance Hospital. This experience is said to have led to his conversion to Christianity. In 1915 he entered Pyongyang Theological Seminary, and he took part in the March First Movement while serving as a helper (equivalent to today's evangelist) at Namdaemun Church.

Ministry and Achievements

During the March First Movement, Ham directed the Christian side of the preparations behind the scenes. He kept custody of the national representatives' seals and was involved in drafting and distributing the Declaration of Independence. He did not, however, sign the declaration himself; reportedly, this was so that he could care for the families of the national representatives and handle subsequent affairs if they were imprisoned. He was nevertheless arrested and in 1920 was sentenced by the Gyeongseong Court of Appeals to three years' imprisonment, reportedly the heaviest sentence given to anyone outside the thirty-three signatories. After his release, he assisted the families of other Christian leaders, as he had promised.

In 1922 he graduated from Pyongyang Theological Seminary and was ordained as a minister. In 1929 he was appointed to Yeondong Church in Seoul, where he served as pastor for twelve years before becoming pastor emeritus. During the Japanese colonial period, he reportedly served as the twelfth moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Joseon Yesugyo Jangnohoe).

After liberation, Ham entered politics. In 1948, when the right-wing camp split over the question of establishing a separate government in the South, he supported Syngman Rhee's position in favor of a separate government. In 1949 he became the second Director of the Board of Audit (equivalent to today's Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection), and in 1950 he became president of Korea Theological College (today's Hanshin University). In 1952, after the National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment providing for the direct popular election of the president and vice president, he was elected vice president in the ensuing election. His term ran from August 15, 1952, to August 14, 1956.

Influence on the Korean Church

In 1953 Ham took part in the organization of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, led by the Rev. Kim Jae-jun. In 1955 he was elected moderator of the denomination's General Assembly. He was also involved in the founding and administration of Korea Theological College, the denomination's institution for theological education, and became one of the denomination's leading senior figures during the division of Korean Presbyterianism (Korean Presbyterian schisms). In 1956 he visited Canada at the invitation of the United Church of Canada. Because his career spanned work as a judicial officer, independence activist, minister, and politician, he is frequently mentioned in discussions of the role of Christianity in the March First Movement.

Assessment

In 1962 the government awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in recognition of his contributions to the March First Movement. Within the Christian community, he is credited with playing a major role in uniting the various denominations during the March First Movement and in forging cooperation with Cheondogyo and Buddhism. His record as a judicial officer who ruled according to his convictions rather than the wishes of those in power is also often noted. In 2023 a biography, Songam Ham Tae-young, was published; its author argued that Ham's life had long been undervalued. At the same time, because he served as Director of the Board of Audit and as vice president under the Syngman Rhee government, some hold that his political activities should be examined in light of the circumstances under which the constitutional amendments and elections of that time took place.