Kim Jae-gyu

Kim Jae-gyu 金載圭
Kim in Taiwan in 1968
Director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency
In office February 4, 1976 – October 26, 1979
President	Park Chung Hee
Minister of Construction
In office September 14, 1974 – February 4, 1976
President	Park Chung-hee
Personal details
Born	(1924-04-09)April 9, 1924 Zensan, Keishōhoku-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died	May 24, 1980(1980-05-24) (aged 56) Seoul Detention Center, Seoul, South Korea
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Resting place	Neungpyeong-dong, Gwangju, Gyeonggi
Spouse	Kim Young Hee
Residence(s)	Seoul, South Korea
Education	Hanyang University graduate Engineering Master Korea Military Academy
Occupation	Soldier, Jeongmujik government official
Religion	Buddhism
Military service
Allegiance	South Korea
Branch/service	Republic of Korea Army
Years of service	1946–1974
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Third Army Group Army Security Command Sixth Military District 6th Division
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War
Korean name
Hangul	김재규
Hanja	金載圭
Revised Romanization	Gim Jaegyu
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Chaegyu
Art name
Hangul	덕산
Hanja	德山
Revised Romanization	Deoksan
McCune–Reischauer	Tŏksan

Kim Jae-gyu (Korean: 김재규, April 9, 1924 – May 24, 1980) was a South Korean politician, army lieutenant general and the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He assassinated South Korean President Park Chung Hee—who had been one of his closest friends—on October 26, 1979, and was subsequently executed by hanging on May 24, 1980.

He remains a controversial figure with many contradictions: he is regarded by some as a patriot who ended Park's 18-year military dictatorship, and by others as a traitor who killed his long-time benefactor out of personal grievance. For many years, the latter was the prevailing view, but later revelations in the early 2000s about Kim's relationship with some leaders of the democracy movement prompted a re-evaluation in some circles.