Seo Beom-seok

Seo Beom-seok (徐範錫, October 19, 1902 – April 2, 1986) was a South Korean politician who had been a journalist. He was originally an independence activist but turned collaborator with Japan. Born in Seoul,¹² he belonged to the Daegu lineage.

Life

He was born in Seoul in 1902. His pen name was Baekbong (白峰). While attending Yangjeong Higher Common School in 1919, he took part in the March 1st Movement, and after graduating, he went to China in 1921 and completed the political science course at Peking University in 1923.

From 1924 to 1931, he worked as a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo, the Sidae Ilbo, and the Dong-a Ilbo. In April 1924, he was detained by police in the Jeokgi Demonstration Incident. In 1925, together with Park Hon-yong, Im Won-geun, Shin Il-yong, and others, he was dismissed from the Chosun Ilbo on the grounds of being a leftist. After his dismissal, he joined the Dong-a Ilbo. In 1930, he worked as a special correspondent for Sinui Province. When the Wanbaoshan Incident occurred in July 1931, he actively covered the incident and also worked to prevent clashes between Korean farmers and Chinese in China.

In 1931, he became the Fengtian (Mukden) special correspondent of the Dong-a Ilbo. In August 1933, he worked as an editor for the Manmong Ilbo (滿蒙日報), a pro-Japanese Korean-language newspaper founded in Hsinking (Xinjing), the capital of Manchukuo.

In 1934, he founded the construction company Hyeopdong Gongsa, taking advantage of the special demand in Manchuria. Then, in March 1936, the Fengtian-based pro-Japanese organization Heung-a Association (興亞協會) made him editor-in-chief of its organ Jaeman Joseonin Tongsin (在滿朝鮮人通信), and through various editorials and articles he carried out pro-Japanese activities. In November of the same year, he participated as a sponsor of the "Korean Conscription Movement" held at Bumingwan in Gyeongseong. In 1938, he became head of the practical affairs department of the Fengtian Headquarters' Seongye Work Secretariat (鮮系工作幹事會) of the Manchukuo Concordia Association, a pro-Japanese organization that promoted the ideology of "national harmony" (民族協和).

In 1940, representing the Fengtian region, he became a standing committee member of the Southeast Special Work Support Association, and he produced recommendation letters addressed to communists such as Kim Il-sung and to the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, which were dropped in large quantities by airplane.