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The secret of September: The 1949 oil agreements between the United States and South Korea
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 June 2023
Abstract
After the Second World War, the US government established a new oil order, forming close ties with three major oil companies—Standard Vacuum, Shell, and California-Texas—referred to as the ‘Three Sisters’ in Korea, which was newly liberated from Japanese colonialism. Even after the South Korean government was established, the US government and the Three Sisters worked to maintain the order. Using the carrot of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) funds, in 1949 the US government pressured the South Korean government into oil agreements that would facilitate the supply of petroleum products to the country. The 1949 oil agreements were completed after three rounds of negotiations. The process of signing the agreements was not limited to the import, storage, and sale of petroleum products in exchange for US aid to South Korea. It also sought to respond to the various interests of Koreans who wanted to create an independent economic structure in the midst of establishing a new government. This article explores the three rounds of negotiations for the 1949 oil agreements whereby the symbiotic relationship between the US government and the Three Sisters was realized in partnership with the interests of the South Korean government. Furthermore, it seeks to broaden the research on the history of Korean oil by promoting an understanding of how US oil policy affected Korea immediately after its liberation from Japanese colonial rule.
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- © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.
References
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13 ‘Planning Document on Korea as Agreed to by Commander in Chief Far East and Commanding General, United States Army Forces in Korea, 14 July 1948’, Entry CDF 1945–49, Box 3820, Record Group 59: General Records of the Department of State (hereafter RG 59), National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD, U.S. (hereafter NARA).
14 ‘Interview with Mr. Harry Martin, Shell Oil Company, 8 December 1945’, Entry A1 1256, Box 38, Record Group 554: Records of General Headquarters, Far East Command, Supreme Commander Allied Powers, and United Nations Command (hereafter RG 554), NARA. ‘Minutes Prepared by United States Negotiating Committee, First Meeting, 21 December 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 1, Record Group 84: Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State (hereafter RG 84), NARA.
15 ‘COMGENUSAFIK to Dept of Army for CSCAD, 17 August 1948’ and ‘COMGENUSAFIK to CSCAD Dept of Army, 13 September 1948’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, Record Group 469: Records of U.S. Foreign Assistance Agencies (hereafter RG 469), NARA; ‘Conference Regarding Pol Distribution in Korea, 11 October 1948’, Entry UD 44544, Box 8, Record Group 338: Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter), NARA.
16 ‘FAOA to COMGENUSAFIK, 16 September 1948’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
17 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. 62, Part 1 (Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1949), pp. 137–159.
18 ‘COMGENUSAFIK to CSCAD Dept of Army, 13 September 1948’; ‘Conference Regarding Pol Distribution in Korea, 11 October 1948’.
19 ‘Minutes Prepared by United States Negotiating Committee, First Meeting, 4 October 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA. ‘Minutes, First Meeting, 21 December 1948’.
20 ‘FAOA to COMGENUSAFIK, 16 September 1948’; ‘Memorandum: Colonel T. Scott Riggs, Civil Affairs Division, Department of the Army to Alden K. Boyd, Acting Director of Administration, ECA September 30, 1948’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA; ‘Supplemental History of the Petroleum Branch, G-4 Section, 1 July 1948–15 November 1948’, Entry A1 1256, Box 54, RG 554, NARA.
21 ‘Minutes Prepared by the United States Negotiating Committee Economic Aid Agreement-Tab E, 14 October 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA.
22 ‘Han Mi Kyeongwon Hoedam e Kukmin ui Yomang eul Deudja [Let’s Listen to the Public Demand for the Aid Agreement]’, The Kyung Hyang Shin Mun [The Kyung Hyang Newspaper], 17 October 1948.
23 Kukhoi Sokkirok [National Assembly Minutes (South Korea)], 11 December 1948.
24 ‘Memorandum [by Ernst Fraenkel and Paul Sturm]’, Entry 2849, Box 1, RG 84, NARA.
25 For information on this issue, refer to the third, tenth, and eleventh minutes of the meetings of the Aid Agreement prepared by the United States. ‘Minutes Prepared by the United States Negotiating Committee Economic Aid Agreement, Third Meeting, 13 October 1948’, ‘Minutes, Tenth Meeting, 1 November 1948’, ‘Minutes, Eleventh Meeting, 2 November 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA.
26 Kukhoi Sokkirok, 18 September 1948.
27 Ibid., 13 December 1948.
28 ‘Minutes Prepared by the United States Negotiating Committee, Proposed Initial Financial and Property Settlement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea, Fourth Meeting, 20 August 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 1, RG 84, NARA. ‘Memorandum’.
29 ‘Saseol: Kyeongje Wonjo wa Han Mi hoedam [Editorial: Economic Aid and S. Korea-US Talks’, The Jayu shinmun [The Korean Free Press], 10 October 1948; ‘Saseol: Kyeongje Wonjo wa Uli ui Yogu [Editorial: Economic Aid and Our Demands]’, The Seoul Shinmun [The Seoul Newspaper], 15 October 1948; ‘Han Mi Kyeongwon Hoedam e Kukmin ui Yomang eul Deudja [Let’s Listen to the Public Demand for the Aid Agreement]’, The Kyung Hyang Shin Mun, 17 October 1948. For information on the Three Sisters’ entry and activities in Korea during the US Military Government, refer to Kwon, ‘American Oil Policy’, pp. 217–228.
30 ‘Dr. Paul Sturm, Denny F. Scott to General Helmick, 2 December 48’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA.
31 ‘KOSCO, Seoul to Commanding General, CIVIL AFFAIRS SECTION, HQ, USAFIK, 7 December 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA.
32 ‘California Texas Oil Co., C. D. Brown, Standard-Vacuum Oil co. D. G. Sanborn, Shell Petroleum Co., Ltd N. F. Webb to the Commanding General, Civil Affairs Section, HQ, USAFIK, 8 December 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA.
33 Kukhoi Sokkirok, 4 December 1948.
34 ‘Muccio, Seoul to Secretary of State, 10 December 1948’, Entry UD237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
35 ‘COMGENUSAFIK, Seoul, Korea to Dept of Army for Armed Services Petroleum Purchasing Agency Pass to Kavanaugh CALTEX Washington for KOSCO, 13 December 1948’, Entry UD237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
36 The oil facilities transferred to the South Korean government through the Operating Agreement were nine large storage areas, including the Pusan petroleum terminal, Wangsimri petroleum terminal, and Inchon petroleum terminal as well as 25 small storage areas scattered across the country. ‘Agreement between The Republic of Korea the United States of America and Korea Oil Storage Company—Appendix A’, Entry 2849, Box 1, RG 84, NARA.
37 ‘Minutes, First Meeting, 21 December 1948’; ‘Minutes Prepared by United States Negotiating Committee, Second Meeting, 22 December 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 1, RG 84, NARA.
38 ‘Minutes, First Meeting, 21 December 1948’; ‘Minutes, Second Meeting, 22 December 1948’.
39 ‘Minutes, First Meeting, 21 December 1948’.
40 ‘Muccio to ECA Administrator, 7 January 1949’, ‘Biddle to ECA Administrator, 14 January 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
41 ‘Department of the Army to COMGENUSAFIK, 7 January 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
42 ‘Dr. Paul Sturm, Denny F. Scott to General Helmick, 2 December 1948’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA.
43 ‘Dept of Army OQMG Sup Div to COMGENUSAFIK, 17 December 1948’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
44 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 8 February 1949’, ‘COMGENUSAIK Seoul Korea from KOSCO sgd Schmitt to Dept of Army OQMG, 11 February 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
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46 ‘Seokyu Baegeub kigwan Munje, Kwangye Dangguk Uigyeon daelib [Conflict of Opinions from Relevant Authorities on Oil Distribution Issues]’, The Dong A Ilbo [The Dong A Newspaper], 2 February 1949. For information about the economic policy immediately after the establishment of the South Korean government, refer to Chung, Jin-A, ‘Syngman Rhee Government’s Economic Policies in the First Republic of Korea (1948–1960): The State-led Industrialization Policies and the Economic Development Plans’, PhD thesis, Yonsei University, 2007, pp. 38–58.Google Scholar
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48 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 25 February 1949’, ‘Hoffman to Seoul, 1 March 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
49 ‘The Special Representative in Korea (Muccio) to the Secretary of State’, 14 April 1949, Foreign Relations of the United States (hereafter FRUS) 1949, Vol. Ⅶ, Part 2, doc. 209.
50 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 8 March 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
51 ‘Report by the National Security Council to the President: Position of the United States with Respect to Korea’, 22 March 1949, FRUS 1949, Vol. Ⅶ, Part 2, doc. 209; ‘Muccio to Secretary of State, 23 April 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
52 ‘The Secretary of State to the American Mission in Korea’, 13 April 1949, FRUS 1949, Vol. Ⅶ, Part 2, doc. 209. ‘Muccio to Secretary of State, 23 April 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
53 ‘Bunce, Seoul to ECA Administrator, 7 April 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
54 ‘To Dr. Edgar A. J. Johnson, Director, Division of Korea Program, 12 April 1949’, ‘Memorandum regarding draft of oil company license agreement and consignment agreement, 12 April 1949’, ‘Hoffman to AMREP, SEOUL, 19 April 1949’, ‘OQMG to COMGENUSAFIK, 22 April 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
55 ‘Hoffman to AMEMBASSY, SEOUL, 2 MAY 1949’, ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 6 May 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
56 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 9 May 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
57 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 7 May 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
58 ‘Jugan Kyeongje Jeonmang, Han Mi Seokyu Hyeopjeong [Weekly Economic Outlook, Korea-U.S. Oil Agreement]’, The Jayu Shinmun, 19 January 1949.
59 ‘Seokyu Hyeopjeong e Yugam [Deplore for the Oil Deal]’, The Dong A Ilbo, 6 February 1949; ‘Seongmyeongseo [Statement]’, The Dong A Ilbo, 18 February 1949; ‘Seongmyeongseo [Statement]’, The Kyung Hyang Shin Mun, 19 February 1949; Korea Oil Association, 50 years of Oil Distribution (Seoul: Korea Oil Association, 2006), p. .Google Scholar
60 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 26 May 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
61 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 17 May 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
62 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 21 May 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
63 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 26 May 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA; ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 9 June 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
64 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 9 June 1949’.
65 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 10 June 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
66 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 21 June 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
67 ‘Hoffman to AMEMBASSY, SEOUL, 17 June 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
68 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 21 June 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
69 ‘Prime Minister, Lee, Bum Suk to Bunce, 29 June 1949’, Entry 2849, Box 2, RG 84, NARA; ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 30 June 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
70 ‘Han Mi Sin Hyeopjeong eun Nanhang [New Korea-U.S. Oil Agreement is in Trouble]’, The Yeongnam Ilbo [The Yeongnam Newspaper], 24 June 1949; ‘Mi Cheuk eun Seokyu Jayu Panmae Huimang [The US hopes for free oil sales]’, The Honam Shinmun [The Honam Press], 28 June 1949.
71 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 6 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA. ‘Bruce, ECA to AMEMBASSY, SEOUL, 4 May 1949’, ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 16 July 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA. ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 3 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
72 ‘Hoffman to AMEMBASSY, SEOUL, 20 July 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA. ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 3 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
73 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 3 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
74 Seo, Joong-Seok, Hankuk Hyeondae Minjok Undong Yeongu [A Study of the National Liberation Movement in Korea], Vol. 2 (Seoul: Yeoksabipyoungsa, 1996), pp. 201–257.Google Scholar
75 ‘Deatonglyeong kwa Ilmun Ildap, Mi Deahan Wonjo e Kidae [Question and Answer with the President, Expects U.S. Aid to Korea]’, The Kyung Hyang Shin Mun, 10 September 1949.
76 Ibid.
77 ‘Ulsan e Seokyu Gongjang Jaegeon [Reconstruction of an Oil Plant in Ulsan]’, The Min Ju Jung Bo [The Democracy Newspaper], 5 April 1949; ‘Seokyu Deachaek e SeoKwang [A Ray of Light Has Finally Begun to Shine on Oil Countermeasure]’, The Dong A Ilbo, 8 April 1949.
78 ‘Ulsan Jeongyu Gongjang Chosen Seokyu Hoisa eseo Chaksu [Ulsan Oil Refinery Started by Chosen Oil Company]’, The Dong A Ilbo, 20 June 1949; ‘Yulyu Gonggeup e Yeokhal Jungdae, Jaegeon doel Ulsan Seokyu Gongjang [Important Role in Oil Supply, Ulsan Oil Plant to be Reconstructed]’, The Min Ju Jung Bo, 3 July 1949.
79 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 6 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
80 Ibid.
81 For information about the conflict between Bunce and President Rhee over the ECA aid funds, see Jong Chol An, ‘Arthur C. Bunce’s Activities and the US Policy Toward Korea Around Korean Liberation from Japan’, The Korean Journal of American History, vol. 31, 2010, pp. 155–159.
82 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 6 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
83 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 15 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
84 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 15 August 1949’; ‘Cho Nyeondo e 10Man Ton Cheoli, Ulsan Jeongyu Gongjang 4Wol Joeop [Processed 100,000 Tons in the First Year, Ulsan Oil Refinery Starts Operation in April]’, The Dong A Ilbo, 20 December 1949; ‘Jibang Sosik, Chosen Seokyu Gongjang Chankgong Kinyeomsik [Local News, Ceremony to Start the Construction of Chosen Oil Plant]’, Jayu Minbo [Free People News], 22 December 1949.
85 KOCO and the Ulsan Refinery were acquired by Sunkyoung (currently SK Energy) following the South Korean government’s privatization measures in 1980. The Ulsan Refinery is now one of the largest oil refineries in the world. Kwon, ‘Machinations from on High’, p. 181.
86 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 28 August 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
87 Ibid.
88 ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 7 September 1949’, ‘Bunce to ECA Administrator, 13 September 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
89 ‘AMEMBASSY, Seoul to ECA Administrator, 15 September 1949’, ‘AMEMBASSY, Seoul to ECA Administrator, 7 October 1949’, ‘AMEMBASSY, Seoul to ECA Administrator, 7 October 1949’, Entry UD 237, Box 70, RG 469, NARA.
90 Korea Oil Association, 50 Years of Oil Distribution, p. 100.
91 Pai, Songyong, ‘Han-Mi Seokyu Hyeopseong kwa Uli Saneopgye [Korea-U.S. Oil Agreement and Our Industry]’, The Min Seong [The People’s Voice], vol. 5, no. 11, 1949, p. .Google Scholar
92 ‘Petroleum Operating Agreement between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America’, Han Mi ganwi Seokyu Unyoung Hyupjung, 1955 [Petroleum Operating Agreement between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, 1955], management number: CA0002565, National Archives of Korea. Korea Oil Association, 50 Years of Oil Distribution, p. 103.
93 ‘Petroleum Operating Agreement’, National Archives of Korea.
94 ‘On the commencement of the second phase under the Korea-U.S. Oil Operation Agreement, August 20, 1956’, ‘On the commencement of the second phase under the Korea-U.S. Oil Operation Agreement, September 1956’, ‘The Shell Petroleum Company Limited to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, August 23, 1956’, management number: CA0002565, National Archives of Korea. Caltex re-entered Korea in 1967 and established Honam Jungyu [LG-Caltex Oil Corporation] (currently GS Caltex Corporation) with Lucky (currently LG Chem). In 1969, Honam Jungyu built South Korea’s second oil refinery in Yeosu on the south coast. Honam Jungyu also established Honam Jeonlyeok [Honam electric power company], and entered the Korean electric power industry in 1968, in line with the government’s electric power industry privatization policy. However, the company was acquired by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) in 1973, as the government adopted to a policy of unifying the country’s electric power industry. For more details about Honam Jungyu, see Kwon, ‘Korean Electric Power Industry and American Oil Companies’, pp. 152–158.
95 Dahanminkuk kwa Mihapjungkuk ganwi 1964 nyun Seokyu hyupjung [Petroleum Agreement between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, 1964], management number: CA0000135, National Archives of Korea; Han Mi ganwi 1964 nyun seokyu hyupjung kwa hapwi wisarok [Petroleum Agreement and Record of discussion between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, 1964], management number: CA0000134, National Archives of Korea.
96 Federal Trade Commission, The International Petroleum Cartel (Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1952), pp. 21–33Google Scholar. ‘Report to the National Security Council by the Departments of States, Defense, the Interior, and Justice’, 6 January 1953, FRUS 1952–1954, Vol. I, Part 2, doc. 159 (it is also in FRUS 1952–1954, Vol. IX, Part 1, doc. 279). Kaufman, Burton I., ‘Oil and Antitrust: The Oil Cartel Case and the Cold War’, The Business History Review, vol. 51, no. 1, 1977, p. .CrossRefGoogle Scholar Mitchell, Carbon Democracy, p. 108.