The PRK took over security and administrative control of Seoul and other areas and oversaw the release of political prisoners and the peaceful evacuation of Japanese forces.

He established a US military presence (USAMGIK) to control the southern half of Korea, which included Jeju Island and the areas in South Jeolla around Yeosu and Suncheon.

Hodge brought Japanese soldiers back to Seoul to staff the USAMGIK - a decision which was abandoned almost immediately due to public uproar.

Fearing the elections would further reinforce established division, guerrilla fighters of the Workers' Party of South Korea (WPSK) reacted by fighting local police and rightist youth groups stationed on Jeju Island.

On another, American soldiers caught government police forces carrying out an execution of 76 villagers, including women and children.

The rebellion was led by 2,000 left-leaning soldiers based in the Yeo-Sun area who opposed the Syngman Rhee regime and his government's handling of the Jeju Uprising, which occurred in April.

The soldiers captured and massacred police and pro-government vigilantes as well as right-leaning families and Christian youth groups[dubious – discuss].

Ji Hang-soo, chief of the 14th regiment personnel section, asked more than 2000 soldiers to gather at their drill ground and gave an inflammatory speech.

Those who stood with Ji formed a rebel army, who proceeded to get on different cars to seize the police station of Yeosu and Yeosu Town Hall, killing about 100 police officers, about 500 civilians who supported the Rhee government, as well as some right wing politicians and party members under Rhee's regime.

By October 20, the insurgent forces took hold of the entirety of Yeosu and joined the 2nd Company of the 14th Regiment who were stationed in Suncheon County.

On October 21, Syngman Rhee declared martial law in the Yeosu-Suncheon region, and sent 10 battalions in an attempt to contain the situation.

By 11 am, Rhee's troops entered the urban area of Suncheon, where there were only defenseless students and civilians left, and proceeded to pursue the insurgent forces in Yeosu.

On October 25, Rhee's troops began to attack Yeosu, where they were resisted by more than 200 soldiers of the rebel army, as well as 1000 students and civilians.

As in the case of the United States' involvement in the Jeju Uprising the US played a role in the Yeosu-Suncheon rebellion as well, both militarily and materially.

[10] In the meantime, Park Chung-hee, who would later become the president of Korea, was arrested and was sentenced to life at first, but it was alleged that he was punished leniently in exchange for agreeing to hunt down people involved in the rebellion through Paik Sun-yup.

After the rebellion, residents in the western region of the country were forced to remain silent about the incident, which was also the case with the Jeju uprising.

The matter was recently reviewed by the South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which found that government forces killed between 439 and 2,000 area civilians.