Park Chung Hee

His Excellency Park Chung Hee
박정희
Official portrait, c. 1963–1979
3rd President of South Korea
In office March 24, 1962 – October 26, 1979 Acting to December 17, 1963
Prime Minister	Himself[a] Kim Hyun-chul[a] Choi Tu-son Chung Il-kwon Paik Too-chin Kim Jong-pil Choi Kyu-hah
Preceded by	Yun Po-sun
Succeeded by	Choi Kyu-hah
Prime Minister of South Korea[a] Acting
In office June 16, 1962 – July 10, 1962
President	Himself
Preceded by	Song Yo-chan
Succeeded by	Kim Hyun-chul
Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction
In office July 3, 1961 – December 17, 1963
Preceded by	Chang Do-yong
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction
In office May 16, 1961 – July 2, 1961
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1917-11-14)November 14, 1917 Gumi, Keishōhoku-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died	October 26, 1979(1979-10-26) (aged 61) Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea
Manner of death	Assassination
Resting place	Seoul National Cemetery
Political party	Democratic Republican
Other political affiliations	Workers' Party of South Korea (1946–1948)[1]
Spouse(s)	Kim Ho-nam [ko] ​ ​ (m. 1936; div. 1950)​ Yuk Young-soo ​ ​ (m. 1950; died 1974)​
Children	Park Jae-ok Park Geun-hye Park Geun Ryeong [ko] Park Ji-man [ko]
Education	Manchukuo Army Military Academy Imperial Japanese Army Academy Korea Military Academy
Religion	Buddhism[2]
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Manchukuo Empire of Japan Second Republic of Korea
Branch/service	Manchukuo Imperial Army (1944–1945) Republic of Korea Army (1945–1963)
Years of service	1944–1963
Rank	General
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War
Korean name
Hangul	박정희
Hanja	朴正熙
Revised Romanization	Bak Jeonghui
McCune–Reischauer	Pak Chŏnghŭi
Art name
Hangul	중수
Hanja	中樹
Revised Romanization	Jungsu
McCune–Reischauer	Chungsu

Park Chung Hee (Korean: 박정희, IPA: [pak̚.tɕ͈ʌŋ.çi]; November 14, 1917 – October 26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general. After seizing power in the May 16 coup of 1961, he was elected as the third President of South Korea in 1963. He ruled the country until his assassination in 1979. He is regarded as one of the most consequential leaders in Korean history, although his legacy as a military dictator continues to cause controversy.

Before his presidency, Park was the second-highest-ranking officer in the South Korean army. His coup brought an end to the interim Second Republic of Korea. After serving for two years as chairman of the military junta, he was elected president in 1963, ushering in the Third Republic. Park began a series of economic reforms that eventually led to rapid economic growth and industrialization, a phenomenon that is now known as the Miracle on the Han River. This made South Korea one of the fastest growing economies of the 1960s and 1970s, albeit with costs to labor rights. This era also saw the formation of chaebols: family companies supported by the state similar to the Japanese zaibatsu. Examples of significant chaebols include Hyundai, LG, and Samsung.

Although popular during the 1960s, Park's popularity started to plateau by the 1970s, with closer than expected victories during the 1971 presidential election and the subsequent legislative elections. In 1972, Park declared martial law after carrying out a self-coup. He then introduced the highly authoritarian Yushin Constitution, ushering in the Fourth Republic. Now ruling as a dictator, he constantly repressed political opposition and dissent and completely controlled the military. He also had much control over the media and expressions of art. In 1979, Park was assassinated by close friend Kim Jae-gyu, director of the KCIA, following the Busan–Masan Uprising.^[3] Whether the assassination was spontaneous or premeditated remains unclear to this day. Economic growth continued in spite of the 1979 coup d'état and considerable political turmoil in the wake of his assassination. The country eventually democratized with the June Democratic Struggle in 1987.

Park remains a controversial figure in modern South Korean political discourse and among the South Korean populace in general, making a detached evaluation of his tenure difficult. While some credit him for sustaining economic growth, which reshaped and modernized South Korea, others criticize his authoritarian way of ruling the country (especially after 1971) and for prioritizing economic growth and social order at the expense of civil liberties and human rights. A Gallup Korea poll in October 2021 showed Park, Kim Dae-jung (an old opponent of Park whom he tried to have executed), and Roh Moo-hyun as the most highly rated presidents of South Korean history in terms of leaving a positive legacy, especially among South Korean conservatives and the elderly.^[4] Park's eldest daughter Park Geun-hye later served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until she was impeached and convicted of various corruption charges in 2017.

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