The April Revolution (), also called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, were mass protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and the First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960 which led to Rhee's resignation. Protests opposing Rhee were started by student and labor groups in the southeastern port city of Masan on April 11. The protests were triggered by the discovery of the body of a local high school student who had been killed by police during demonstrations against rigged elections in March. Popular discontent had arisen due to Rhee's autocratic rule, corruption, use of violence against political opposition, and uneven development of South Korea. The Masan discovery led to large student protests in Seoul, which were violently suppressed; a total of 186 people were killed during the two weeks of protest. Rhee resigned on April 26 before fleeing to exile in the United States, and was replaced by Yun Posun, beginning the transition to the Second Republic of South Korea. Background Syngman Rhee had been the first President of South Korea since the 1948 presidential election, overseeing the transition of power from the United States Army Military Government to the Government of South Korea and the establishment of the First Republic of Korea, and led South Korea during the Korean War. With American patronage in the Cold War, Rhee adopted a strongly anti-communist and pro-American stance, and the threat of communism was used as an excuse for severe political repression against any perceived opposition. The South Korean public widely perceived Rhee as corrupt and a dictator who abused his autocratic powers to maintain his rule and cronyism in the government. This was tolerated in the name of political unity and fear of reprisals, but Rhee faced increasing domestic discontent following the end of the Korean War in 1953, as his rule had delivered limited economic and social development, while angering the public by amending the constitution to prolong his stay in power. In December 1958, Rhee forced through the National Assembly an amendment to the National Security Law giving the government broad new powers to curtail freedom of the press and prevent members of the opposition from voting. In 1959, Rhee was shocked and threatened when the United States reduced its economic aid to South Korea from a high of $382,893,000 in 1957 to $222,204,000, and he began taking desperate measures to ensure his