Born in
Mokcheon, a neighbourhood in
Cheonan,
South Chungcheong Province, Joseon in 1894. Chough's family was wealthy, and in 1914, sent him to the United States for his education. He attended a high school in
Kingston in the state of
Pennsylvania before going on to study at
Columbia University in
New York. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts in 1922 and proceed to gain a
Doctorate in Economics in 1925. On completing his tertiary education, Chough returned to Korea and worked as a teacher at
Chŏson Christian College. A nationalist, he was imprisoned in 1929 by the Japanese authorities for his activities. In September 1945, following the end of the Japanese occupation, he was one of the founding members of the conservative
Korean Democratic Party (KDP). The following month, under the American Military Government, established to control the southern half of Korea as it prepared for independence, Chough became director of the
Korean National Police; he was selected for the role by the Americans. In some quarters of the American Military Government there was dislike for his harsh methods against Korean communists, but he was otherwise deemed to be capable. Following the establishment of South Korea in 1948, Chough was the country's representative to the
United Nations. He was also an emissary for
Syngman Rhee, the country's first president. In July 1950, he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs. With the ROK now embroiled in a conflict with North Korea, following the latter's invasion of the south, he worked to boost the numbers and provisions of the KNP. Much of the KNP's work involved dealing with North Korean infiltrators that were moving to the south, hidden amongst refugees. By November 1950, he claimed that the KNP had arrested over 55,000 "collaborators and traitors". He fell out with Rhee after the
Geochang massacre; Rhee had interfered with the resulting investigation and released the perpetrators under an amnesty. In early 1951, Chough resigned his ministerial post in protest. He continued to be critical of Rhee, particularly at time of the latter's unilateral decision in mid-1953 to release North Korean prisoners of war during the
armistice talks at
Panmunjom. Chough argued that this negatively impacted the ROK's diplomatic relationships. By 1956, he had risen to be head of the KDP. In the
1960 presidential election, Chough was the KDP's candidate for the presidency of the ROK, opposing Rhee. == Death ==