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Person1919 – 2006

Choi Kyu-hah

10th President (1979–1980). Acting president after 26 October 1979, then elected by the National Conference for Unification; resigned in August 1980

A career diplomat, he served as foreign minister and prime minister. After the October 26 Incident he became acting president, and in December 1979 the National Conference for Unification elected him president. But in the December 12 Incident Chun Doo-hwan and the new military seized real power, followed in 1980 by the nationwide extension of martial law on 17 May, the May 18 Democratic Uprising and the creation of the Special Committee for National Security Measures. He resigned in August 1980.

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3 related events

  1. 1
    1979October 26 Incidentrelated figure

    KCIA director Kim Jae-gyu shot and killed President Park Chung-hee, bringing down the Yushin system.

  2. 2
    1979December 12 Incidentrelated figure

    On 12 December 1979 Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo and the "new military" group forcibly detained the martial-law commander and took control of the army.

  3. 3
    1980Chun Doo-hwan Government and the 8th Amendmentrelated figure

    The new military group took power through the Special Committee for National Security Measures and amended the constitution to a single seven-year term chosen by an electoral college.

People who appear alongside

  • Chun Doo-hwan1931 – 2021

    11th–12th President (1980–1988), leading figure of the new military group that seized control in the December 12 incident; tried in 1996 over 12 December and 18 May

  • Kim Jae-gyu1926 – 1980

    Director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency who shot President Park Chung-hee on 26 October 1979; executed in 1980

  • Park Chung-hee1917 – 1979

    5th–9th President (1963–1979). Led the May 16 coup, the five-year economic plans and the Yushin system; killed in the October 26 incident

  • Roh Tae-woo1932 – 2021

    13th President (1988–1993). Announced the June 29 Declaration, became the first president directly elected under the 1987 constitution, and pursued Nordpolitik