[7] In 1996, Chun was convicted by the Seoul High Court on multiple charges, including treason and insurrection, for orchestrating the 1979 coup d’état and unlawfully declaring martial law to subdue the National Assembly and suppress the Gwangju Uprising.

[4] Chun was born on 18 January 1931 in Yulgok-myeon [ko], a poor farming town in Hapcheon County, Korea, Empire of Japan.

While there, he made several key friends among the students who would later play instrumental roles in helping Chun seize control of the country.

He later trained in the United States, specializing in guerilla tactics and psychological warfare, and married Lee Soon-ja, the daughter of the KMA's commandant at the time of his attendance, in 1958.

[14][15] In 1970, holding the rank of colonel, Chun became the commander of the 29th Regiment, South Korean 9th Infantry Division, and participated in the Vietnam War.

After some confusion over the constitutional procedures for presidential succession, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-ha finally ascended to the position of Acting President.

"Chun subsequently ordered all intelligence reports to now be sent to his office at 8:00 am and 5:00 pm every day, so he could decide what information to give higher command.

On the night of Jeong's capture, 29th Regiment, 9th Division, along with the 1st and 3rd Airborne Brigades, invaded downtown Seoul to support the 30th and 33rd Security Group loyal to Chun, then a series of conflicts broke out in the capital.

On 17 May 1980, Chun expanded martial law to the entire country, due to stated rumors of North Korean infiltration into South Korea.

On 17 October, he abolished all political parties—including Park's Democratic Republican Party, which had essentially ruled the country as a one-party state since the imposition of the Yushin Constitution.

It was far less authoritarian than Park's Yushin Constitution; for instance, it enshrined the secrecy of correspondence, banned torture and invalidated confessions obtained by force.

In 1980, in the face of increased tension with the U.S. over his military takeover, Chun issued a memorandum stating that his country would not develop missiles with a range longer than 180 km or capable of carrying greater than a 453 kg warhead.

[23][24] During this time, Chun was worried about the state of South Korean-U.S. relations, which had greatly deteriorated towards the end of Park Chung Hee's long authoritarian presidency.

With the military coup taking power and crushing the democratization movements country-wide, the citizens' political demands were being ignored, and in this way the 3S Policy (Sex, Screen, Sports) was passed.

Based on right-wing Japanese activist Sejima Ryuzo's proposal, Chun tried to appeal to the citizens in order to ensure the success of the 1988 Seoul Olympics preparations.

Chun rapidly enacted various measures to this end, forming professional baseball and soccer leagues, starting the broadcast of color TV throughout the nation as a whole, lessening censorship on sexually suggestive dramas and movies, making school uniforms voluntary, and so forth.

[26] Chun's presidency occurred during the Cold War, and his foreign policies were based around combating communism from North Korea and Soviet Union.

Japanese newspapers widely reported that Chun was the de facto leader of the country months before he made any move to become president.

Also from 1986 to 1988, he and President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines established talks between the two countries for strengthening Philippine-South Korean economic, social and cultural friendship.

That announcement enraged the democratization community and, in concert with several scandals from the Chun government that year, demonstrators began their movement again, starting with a speech at the Anglican Cathedral of Seoul.

In hopes of gaining control over a situation that was rapidly getting out of hand, Roh made a speech promising a much more democratic constitution and the first direct presidential elections in 16 years.

On 10 July 1987, Chun resigned as head of the DJP, remaining its Honorary Chairman but handing official leadership of the upcoming campaign to Roh.

Chun finished out his term and handed over the presidency to Roh on 25 February 1988, the first peaceful transition of power in the history of South Korea.

In February 1988, during the presidency of Roh, Chun was named chair of the National Statesman Committee and so wielded considerable influence in South Korean politics.

In that year, the DJP lost its majority in the National Assembly elections to opposition parties, paving the way for the so-called "Fifth Republic Hearings".

At this time, Chun decided to live for several years in Baekdamsa, a Buddhist temple in the Gangwon-do province, in order to pay penance for his actions.

[29] The National Assembly passed a bill called the Chun Doo-hwan Act, extending the statute of limitations on confiscating assets from public officials who have failed to pay fines.

Since Chun never apologized for his role in the Gwangju Uprising[39] and his past crimes, the Blue House only expressed private condolences to his family via a spokesperson, and announced that there was no plan to send wreaths.

According to his widow Lee Soon-ja, Chun had requested his family to minimize the funeral process, never make any tomb for him, and spread his ashes in areas overlooking the North Korean territory.

The court reportedly took into consideration Chun Woo-won's voluntary cooperation with the police and regret for the wrongdoing, and therefore erred on the side of leniency by handing him a suspended sentence.