Korean Political History I: Chapter 3, Exercise 3 — Possible Solution
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TASK
"The 1948 southern election was free and fair because turnout was 95.5
percent." Say what the sources support and what they do not, and rewrite.

WHAT THE SOURCES SUPPORT
- The election took place on 10 May 1948 under US military occupation with UN
  supervision, and turnout was 95.5 percent.
- It was the first time citizens voted for a national legislative body.

WHAT THEY DO NOT SUPPORT
- "Free and fair": the sources also report a boycott by Kim Koo and Kim
  Kyu-sik, abstention by much of the left and nationalist right, and about
  323 deaths in violence before the vote.
- Turnout is not a measure of fairness; a high figure can go with a limited
  choice of candidates.
- The north could not vote at all because of Soviet obstruction, so it was
  not a national election in the full sense.

REWRITE
"The 10 May 1948 election to the south's Constituent National Assembly had a
reported turnout of 95.5 percent and was the first national legislative vote
in Korea, but it was boycotted by figures including Kim Koo and Kim
Kyu-sik, largely abstained from by the left and parts of the right, and
preceded by violence in which about 323 deaths were reported."