Park Chung Hee
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6th-9th President of South Korea
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| In office 1963 (chairman of the SCNR 1961-63) – 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Yun Boseon |
| Succeeded by | Choe Gyuha |
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| Born | September 30, 1917 Gumi, North Gyeongsang |
| Died | October 26, 1979 Seoul |
| Political party | Democratic Republican Party |
| Spouse | Yuk Yeongsu |
| Park Chung Hee | |
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| Hangul: | 박정희 |
| Hanja: | 朴正熙 |
| Revised Romanization: | Bak Jeonghui |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Pak Chŏnghŭi |
Park Chung Hee (November 14, 1917 – October 26, 1979) was the president of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He has been credited with the modernization of South Korea through export-led growth and developmental dictatorship, but also criticized for human rights abuses during his extended presidency. He was named one of the top 100 Asians of the Century by Time Magazine (1999).
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[edit] Birth
Park was born in Seonsan, a small town in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang province near Daegu. He was the seventh child from a family of modest means. His father was Park Seong-bin (age 46 at the time) and his mother was Baek Nam-hui (age 45). [1]
Park came from an undistinguished local branch of Goryeong Bak descent group. [2]
Park won admission to Daegu Teacher's College through a competitive examination. He entered on April 8, 1932 and graduated on March 25, 1937, after five years of study. His formative years coincided with the Japanese invasion of China, starting with the Manchurian incident in 1931 and culminating in all-out war in 1937.
He went on to teach for several years in Mungyeong, where the school has been preserved as a museum.
[edit] Military career
Park won admission to a two-year training program in Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria. He graduated from the Japanese Manchurian military academy at the top of his class in 1944. He then was selected for another two years of training at the Imperial Military Academy in Tokyo. His experience with the Japanese government's program of economic development in Manchukuo strongly affected his thinking when he became president of Republic of Korea.[citation needed]
Park had served as a lieutenant in the Kantogun, part of the Imperial Japanese Army, in Manchuria, fighting Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist forces. Although the Kantogun also carried out actions against Korean guerrillas, it is not clear whether Park actually fought against Korean forces.
[edit] Post World War II
In the aftermath of Japan's defeat in World War II, according to his elder brother's recommendation, Park joined an influential communist group, the South Korean Workers' Party, in the American occupation zone, which later became South Korea. Park was involved in a rebellion in Yeosu and Suncheon, Jeollanamdo, led by units of the new American-supported army. Park was arrested and sentenced to death, but escaped death by striking a deal in which he offered up the names of his communist comrades to the South Korean authorities. He was then released and left the army in dishonor. However; the outbreak of the Korean War enabled him to be reinstated.[citation needed]
During the war, Park was accused of being a communist. General Paek Sun-yeop, a Korean War hero, used his rank and status to exonerate the younger Park.[citation needed]
[edit] Ascension to presidency
Syngman Rhee, the first president of Republic of Korea, was forced out of office on April 26, 1960 as an aftermath of the April 19 Movement, a student-led uprising. A new government took office on August 13. This was a short-lived period of parliamentary rule in Republic of Korea with a figurehead president, Yun Po-son, in response to the authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Rhee administration. Real power rested with Prime Minister Chang Myon.
Yun and Chang did not command the respect of the majority of the Democratic Party. They could not agree on the composition of the cabinet and Chang attempted to hold the tenuous coalition together by reshuffling cabinet positions three times within five months.
[edit] Political background
Meanwhile, the new government was caught between an economy that was suffering from a decade of mismanagement and corruption by the Rhee presidency and the students who had led to Rhee's ouster. The students were regularly filling the streets, making numerous and wide-ranging demands for political and economic reforms. Law and order could not be maintained because the police, long an instrument of the Rhee government, were demoralized and had been completely discredited by the public. Continued factional wrangling caused the public to turn away from the party.
[edit] Coup d'état
Seizing the moment, then-Major General Park Chung-hee led a largely bloodless military coup (called the 5.16 Revolution) on May 16, 1961, a coup largely welcomed by a general populace exhausted by political chaos. Although Chang resisted the coup efforts, President Yun sided with the junta and persuaded the United States Eighth Army and the commanders of various South Korean army units not to interfere with the new rulers.
The Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) was created on June 19, 1961 to prevent a countercoup and to suppress all potential enemies domestic and international. It was to have not only investigative power, but also the power to arrest and detain anyone suspected of wrongdoing or harboring antijunta sentiments. The KCIA extended its power to economic and foreign affairs under its first director, Colonel (retired) Kim Jong-pil, a relative of Park and one of the original planners of the coup.
Yun remained in office to provide legitimacy to the regime, but resigned on March 22, 1962. Park Chung-hee was the real power as chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction. Following pressure from the Kennedy administration in the United States, a civilian government was restored, with Park narrowly winning the 1963 election as the candidate of the newly-created Democratic Republican Party over Yun, candidate of the Civil Rule Party. He was reelected in 1967, again defeating Yun by a narrow margin.
[edit] First two terms as president
[edit] Economic reform
Park is generally credited as playing a pivotal role in the development of South Korea's economy by shifting its focus to export-oriented industrialization. When he came to power in 1961, South Korean per capita income was only USD 72, and North Korea was regarded as the greater economic and military power on the peninsula because North Korea was industrialized under the Japanese regime due to its geographical proximity to Manchuria and merit in terms of natural resources. During Park's tenure, per capita income increased twentyfold, and South Korea's rural, undeveloped economy was transformed into an industrial powerhouse. Even Kim Dae-jung, one of Park's most prominent opponents during his rule, has retrospectively praised him for his role in creating the modern-day South Korea. [1]
The strength of Park's leadership was evidenced by the remarkable development of industries and rise in the standard of living of average South Korean citizens during his presidency. Many still question Park's judgment, however, as his 1965 normalization of diplomatic relations with Japan had been extremely unpopular and resulted in widespread unrest as memories from Japan's 35-year brutal colonization of Korea proved vivid. However, by normalizing relations with Japan, Park allowed Japanese capital to flow into the country. These aids and loans -- although criticized by many Koreans to be too meager for the 35 years of occupation by Imperial Japan -- along with American aid, helped to restore the depleted capital of South Korea. Nonetheless, it must be noted that with North Korea's economy at the time being bigger and more vibrant than that of South Korea, Park did not have many options or much time to negotiate for more fitting reparations and apologies. This issue still plagues Japan and South Korea's relationship today.
Even though the electoral system was heavily rigged in favor of Park's Democratic Republican Party, he barely squeezed to reelection in 1967 against Yun.
[edit] Creation of agencies to oversee economic development
- The Economic Planning Board (EPB)
- The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)
- The Ministry of Finance (MoF)
[edit] Yusin Constitution
The Constitution of 1963 barred a South Korean president from seeking a third consecutive term. However, with the assistance of the KCIA, Park's allies in the legislature succeeded in amending the Constitution to allow the current president--himself--to run for three consecutive terms. In 1971, Park squeaked to victory again, this time over Kim Dae-jung, amid allegations of vote-rigging and illegal electioneering.
Just after being sworn in for his third term, Park declared a state of emergency "based on the dangerous realities of the international situation." In October 1972, he dissolved Parliament and suspended the Constitution. In December, a new constitution, the Yusin Constitution, was approved in a heavily rigged plebiscite (91.5% voted in favor). This new document dramatically increased his power, making him a virtual dictator. It also transferred the election of the president to an electoral college, the National Conference for Unification. The presidential term was increased to six years, with no limits on reelection.
Following the Yusin Constitution's passage, Park's regime grew markedly more repressive, with the KCIA becoming well-known for detaining and torturing opposition leaders. However, he justified his naked autocracy with claims that he needed the power to defend the country from communism and North Korea. Park was reelected in 1972 and 1978, but the requirements for candidacy were so stringent that he ran unopposed both times.
[edit] Assassination attempts
On January 21, 1968, a team of about 10--15 North Korean spies was secretly sent to South Korea to kill Park. They crossed the border mountains and hijacked a bus in Seoul. No civilians were in the bus. The spies drove it towards the Blue House (the presidential residence of South Korea), where Park was at the time. When the Korean military was informed of the presence of the North Koreans, they hurriedly went to protect the president. Armed with machine guns and grenades, the spies drove almost to the Blue House until they met South Korean soldiers. After a short grenade and gun battle, all but one spy were killed. Thirty-seven South Koreans were also killed.
On August 15, 1974, a botched assassination attempt by North Korean agent Mun Se-gwang claimed his wife, Yuk Yeong-su, instead. After this attack he famously finished the speech he was giving, despite his wife's death.
[edit] Assassination
On October 26, 1979, Park was gunned down by Kim Jae-kyu, the director of the KCIA and a longtime friend. Kim claimed that Park was an obstacle to democracy and that his act was one of patriotism. After Kim shot to death the president and the leader of his guards, his agents quickly killed four more of the presidential bodyguards before the group was apprehended. The entire episode is usually either considered a spontaneous act of passion by an individual and that the actions of the other agents only occured because the men felt loyalty to Kim and naturally followed his lead, or as part of a pre-arranged attempted coup by the intelligence service, [2], with the latter being more widely believed.
[edit] Legacy
It is alleged by supporters that despite his dictatorial rule and the high growth that occurred during his years in power, Park did not engage in corruption and led a simple life. Detractors allege he was simply a brutal dictator and only brought about high growth through military control over labour.
The President's Last Bang, a controversial movie released in South Korea in 2005, is highly critical of Park. Among other things, it highlights his dictatorial policies, and stories of drinking and womanizing. Perhaps most controversially, it alleges he sometimes preferred to speak Japanese instead of Korean and displayed pro-Japanese sentiments. Another film released the previous year, The President's Barber, portrayed him as aloof and largely unconcerned with the human rights violations committed by his regime, at one point directing that a group of doctors be rounded up and accused of working for North Korea. These controversial movies were criticized by his supporters for defaming him by mixing reality with fabrication.
Being a complex man as a policy maker, many Koreans continue to hold Park in high regard in great part due to the industrial and economic growth experienced by South Korea under his presidency. But there are also many who condemn Park for the brutality of his dictatorship and for his service to the Japanese army during World War II. Today, Park's critics deplore the widespread human rights abuses seen in South Korea during his rule. Arbitrary arrests without warrants or evidence, often based merely on hearsay and suspicion of communist activity, resulted in many civilians undergoing torture and even death.
His daughter Park Geun-hye was elected the chairwoman of the conservative Grand National Party in 2004. She has resigned her post in order to prepare a presidential bid for the upcoming election. [3]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- BBC News' "On this day": a recollection of Park's assassination.
- Video footage of 1974 assasination attempt, from British satirical TV show TV Offal
| Preceded by: Yun Poson |
President of South Korea 1961–1979 |
Succeeded by: Choi Kyuha |
| Presidents of South Korea |  |
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Provisional Government: Rhee Syng-man* | Park Eunsik* | Yi Sang-ryong* | Hong Jin* | Yi Dong-nyung* | Kim Gu* |
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Rhee Syng-man | Yun Bo-seon | Park Chung-hee | Choe Kyu-hah | Chun Doo-hwan | Roh Tae-woo | Kim Young-sam | Kim Dae-jung | Roh Moo-hyun |
