| Ok Kwan-bin | |||||||||||
| Death Place: | Shanghai, China | ||||||||||
| Death Cause: | Assassination | ||||||||||
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Ok Kwan-bin (? - 1 August 1933) was a Korean independence activist and businessman.
He was once a member of the New People's Association of the Korean Provisional Government (KPG). However, he eventually left the KPG and allegedly became a wealthy collaborator with the Japanese.
He was assassinated at the behest of Kim Ku, by agents of the anarchist .
Around July 1933, Kim Ku felt that Ok Kwan-bin had turned into a cooperator with the Japanese government and was publicly slandering members of the independence movement. Around this time, Ok was quite wealthy and prominent in Shanghai society, employing hundreds at a pharmaceutical company, acquiring newspaper companies, buying luxury cars, and making deals with Japanese colonial institutions. The betrayal and perceived flaunting of wealth infuriated Kim and several others, and they agreed to assassinate Ok. Kim enlisted the help of a group of anarchists in Shanghai called the . Independently of the KPG, they previously had engaged in various attacks on the Japanese military in Shanghai. Kim had the money but lacked reliable manpower. So he enlisted their help and funded them to carry out the assassination.
On 1 August 1933, at 9 pm, the assassination was carried out. The group had tracked Ok's movements for two months and found that he was having an affair with a woman who lived in the French Concession. The assassins were and Ŏm Hyŏng-sun. When Ok left the house of his mistress, Ŏm pulled up in a car and fired three shots at Ok, killing him on the spot. One week after, Kim Ku sent a press release to various newspapers in Shanghai, announcing the killing and the motivations behind it.
A number of other assassinations followed that were caused by Ok's. On 17 August, a pro-Japanese Korean officer named Yi Chin-ryong, who was investigating Kim and Ok's murder, was shot by members of the, which Kim was a member of (at latest) since 1923.
The Chinese and Korean communities were shocked by the attacks. Many sympathizers panicked, thinking they'd be next. Yu In-pal, the leader of the Shanghai Korean Friends Association, decided he would not sit around until they came for him. On 28 August, he went door-to-door in the French Concession with a concealed pistol, asking everyone how they felt about the Association. He eventually met Pak Ch'ang-se, a KPG member and Kim ally. They had a friendly conversation long into the night, with Pak assuring Yu he meant no harm. On 31 August, a young assassin rushed into Yu's home and shot him, but he survived. Later examination of the bullet casings found that they were the same as those used in Yi's assassination. Later, an arrest warrant was issued for Pak, but he escaped.
The third assassination was on 18 December. Ok's cousin, also a Japanese sympathizer, had been seeking revenge for his cousin's death. He was then himself shot and killed.