Park Chung-hee (1917-1979) served as president of South Korea from 1963 to 1979. He had taken power as head of the nation in 1961 after leading a military revolt against the civilian government. On Oct. 26, 1979, Park was assassinated by the head of the country’s Central Intelligence Agency (now the National Intelligence Service).
Park, a controversial leader, helped establish many new industries in South Korea, and the country’s economy grew rapidly under his rule. On the other hand, Park’s government greatly restricted individual rights. For example, the government made it illegal to criticize the president or the constitution, which gave the president almost unlimited power. Park had many people imprisoned for criticizing his policies. He said harsh rule was needed to guard against attack by North Korea.
Park was born on Sept. 30, 1917, in Gumi, a city in North Gyeongsang Province. In the early 1940’s, he attended military academies and served in the Japanese Army. He entered the Korean Military Academy in 1945. Park became a Korean Army captain in 1946 and a general in 1953. After leading the 1961 military revolt, he headed a military government for two years. In 1963, Park resigned from the army and was elected president by the voters to head a new civilian government. He was reelected by the voters in 1967 and 1971. In 1972 and 1978, Park was reelected by an electoral college made up of persons loyal to him.
In 2012, Park’s daughter Park Geun-hye was elected to become South Korea’s first woman president. She held office from 2013 to 2017.
