Coup d'état of December Twelfth
Encyclopedia
The Coup d'état of December Twelfth (Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...

: 12.12 군사반란) or the "12.12 Military Insurrection" was a military coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 which took place on December 12, 1979 in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

.

Republic of Korea Army
Republic of Korea Army
The Republic of Korea Army is the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces with 520,000 members as of 2010...

 Lieutenant General Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan was a ROK Army general and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his heavy-handed response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement, but later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam with the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung,...

, commander of the Security Command, acting without (source?) authorization from Acting President Choi Kyu-ha, ordered the arrest of General Jeong Seung-hwa
Jeong Seung-hwa
Jeong Seung-hoa was South Korean soldier, and the 22nd ROK Army Chief of Staff. He was in Gungjeong-dong during the assassination of President Park Chung-hee....

, ROK Army Chief of Staff, on allegations of involvement in the assassination of President Park Chung Hee. This led to a bloody shoot-out at the Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Defense. By the next morning, Chun and his fellow eleventh class military academy graduates such as Major General Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo , is a former ROK Army general and politician. He was the 13th president of South Korea .Roh befriended Chun Doo-hwan while in high school in Daegu. In his younger life, Roh was a keen rugby union player....

, commanding general of 9th Infantry Division, and Major General Jeong Ho-yong
Jeong Ho-yong
General Jeong Ho-yong was South Korean Soldier and politician, and Interior Minister, Military Minister of South Korea....

 were in charge of the Korean military. Chun was supported in the coup and the subsequent consolidation of power by the powerful private club of military officials called Hanahoe.

Coup d'état of December Twelfth and Coup d'état of May Seventeenth
Coup d'état of May Seventeenth
Coup d'état of May Seventeenth was a military coup d'état carried out in South Korea by general Chun Doo-hwan and Hanahoe that led Coup d'état of December Twelfth....

 ended the Fourth Republic of South Korea
Fourth Republic of South Korea
The Fourth Republic was the government of South Korea between 1972 and 1981, regulated by the Yushin Constitution adopted in October 1972 and confirmed in a referendum on 21 November 1972. From 1972 to 1979, power was monopolized by Park Chung Hee and his Democratic Republican Party under the...

 and led to the Fifth Republic of South Korea
Fifth Republic of South Korea
The Fifth Republic of South Korea was the government of South Korea from 1979 to 1987, replacing the Fourth Republic of South Korea. Throughout this period, the government was controlled by Chun Doo-hwan, a military colleague of the assassinated president Park Chung-hee. This period saw extensive...

.

See also

  • Coup d'état of May Seventeenth
    Coup d'état of May Seventeenth
    Coup d'état of May Seventeenth was a military coup d'état carried out in South Korea by general Chun Doo-hwan and Hanahoe that led Coup d'état of December Twelfth....

  • Gwangju Democratization Movement
  • History of South Korea
    History of South Korea
    The history of South Korea formally begins with the establishment of South Korea on 15 August 1948, although Syngman Rhee had declared the establishment in Seoul on 13 August....

  • List of Korea-related topics

Further reading

  • Don Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas (Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass, 1997, ISBN 0-201-40927-5, p. 121)
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