Rhee Syng-man
At the end of World War 2, Rhee returned to Seoul. This was before the other independence leaders, since he was the only one well known to the Allies. In 1945, he was chosen as head of a provisional (short term) government. With the unspoken agreement of the occupation authorities, Rhee conducted a number of actions to "remove Communism". This was actually a hidden plan to remove all possible opposition to him.