Park Chung-hee Assassinated: South Korea in Chaos
Kim Jae-gyu, director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, shot President Park Chung-hee during a private dinner at a KCIA safe house in Seoul on October 26, 1979. Kim also killed Park's chief bodyguard. The assassination ended 18 years of authoritarian rule under Park, who had seized power in a 1961 military coup and declared martial law in 1972 to extend his presidency indefinitely. Kim claimed he killed Park to restore democracy, but the military did not agree. General Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup within weeks and imposed martial law. Kim was hanged on May 24, 1980. South Korea endured another seven years of military dictatorship before the democracy movement of June 1987 finally forced direct presidential elections. Park's daughter, Park Geun-hye, was elected president in 2012 and impeached in 2017.
October 26, 1979
47 years ago
Key Figures & Places
President of South Korea
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May
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Park Chung-hee
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Park Chung-hee assassination
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KCIA
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Kim Jae-kyu
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Choi Kyu-ha
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Choi Kyu-hah
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Assassination of Park Chung-hee
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Kim Jae-gyu
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Korean Central Intelligence Agency
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