History of South Korea

[20] In 1946, the North implemented land reforms by confiscating private property, Japanese and pro-Japanese owned facilities and factories, and placed them under state ownership.

[57] Although the government had been established with support of the people, it had failed to implement effective reforms which brought about endless social unrest, political turmoil and ultimately, the May 16 coup.

Dissatisfied with the cleanup measures undertaken by the Second Republic and convinced that the current disoriented state would collapse into communism, they chose to take matters into their own hands.

[58][59][60][61] As a means to check the opposition, the military authority created the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) in June 1961, with Kim Jong-pil, a relative of Park, as its first director.

However, Park became presidential candidate of the new Democratic Republican Party (DRP), which consisted of mainly KCIA officials, ran for president and won the election of 1963 by a narrow margin.

[64][75][76] Major protests and demonstrations against the constitutional amendment broke out, with large support gaining for the opposition leader Kim Dae-jung, but Park was again re-elected in the 1971 presidential election.

[64] In the midst of this domestic insecurity, the Nixon Doctrine had eased tensions among the world superpowers on the international scene, which caused a dilemma for Park, who had justified his regime based on the state policy of anti-communism.

[64] In a sudden gesture, the government proclaimed a joint communiqué for reunification with North Korea on 4 July 1972, and held Red Cross talks in Seoul and Pyongyang.

In 1979, mass anti-government demonstrations occurred nationwide, in the midst of this political turmoil, Park Chung Hee was assassinated by the director of the KCIA, Kim Jae-gyu, thus bringing the 18-year rule of military regime to an end.

[74][78][79] After the assassination of Park Chung-hee, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah took the president's role only to be usurped 6 days later by Major General Chun Doo-hwan's 1979 Coup d'état of December Twelfth.

[74] In May of the following year, a vocal civil society composed primarily of university students and labour unions led strong protests against authoritarian rule all over the country.

A new Constitution was established with notable changes; maintaining the presidential system but limiting it to a single 7-year term, strengthening the authority of the National Assembly, and conferring the responsibilities of appointing judiciary to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

However, the system of indirect election of the president stayed and many military persons were appointed to highly ranked government positions, keeping the remnants of the Yushin era.

Tight monetary laws and low interest rates contributed to price stability and helped the economy boom with notable growth in the electronics, semi-conductor, and automobile industries.

However, in 1980 North Korea had submitted a "one nation, two system" reunification proposal which was met with a suggestion from the South to meet and prepare a unification constitution and government through a referendum.

[80] Despite economic growth and success in diplomatic relations, the government that gained power by coup d'état was essentially a military regime and the public's support and trust in it was low when the promises for democratic reform never materialized.

The Gwangju massacre was never forgotten and in January 1987, when a protesting Seoul National University student died under police interrogation, public fury was immense.

Shortly after Roh's inauguration, the 1988 Summer Olympics took place, raising South Korea's international recognition and greatly influencing foreign policy.

Roh's government announced the official unification plan, Nordpolitik, and established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union, China, and countries in Eastern Europe.

The country also faced a variety of catastrophes: the Gupo Station rail accident[98] and the sinking of MV Seohae in 1993,[citation needed] the Seongsu Bridge disaster in 1994,[99] and the Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995.

[111][112] His victory came with much support from the younger generation and civic groups who had hopes of participatory democracy, and Roh's administration consequently launched with the motto of "participation government".

However, the ruling party then lost its majority in by-elections in 2005, as discontinued reform plans, continual labor unrest, Roh's personal feuds with the media, and diplomatic friction with the United States and Japan caused criticism of the government's competence on political and socioeconomic issues and on foreign affairs.

[120] Stating "creative pragmatism" as a guiding principle, Lee's administration set out to revitalize the flagging economy, re-energize diplomatic ties, stabilize social welfare, and meet the challenges of globalization.

[123] Also that month, summit talks with the United States addressed the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and helped ease tensions between the two countries caused by the previous administrations.

Lee agreed to lift the ban on US beef imports, which caused massive protests and demonstrations in the months that followed, as paranoia of potential mad cow disease gripped the country.

Further controversies arose over the years regarding the appointment of high-ranking government officials, rampant political conflicts, accusations of oppression of media, and strained diplomatic relationships with North Korea and Japan.

[136] Her reputation during her presidency was eventually marred by her incompetency of handling the Sewol ferry disaster,[137] the 2015 MERS outbreak,[138] and later a major scandal, leading to her impeachment in December 2016.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn acted as President of South Korea[141] pending completion of investigations[142] into the actions of Park Geun-hye, and in the absence of any intervening election.

[145] As President, his tenure saw an improving political relationship with North Korea, some increasing divergence in the military alliance with the United States, and the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

[158] Yoon was subsequently impeached on 14 December by the National Assembly and suspended from office pending a final ruling by the Constitutional Court on whether to confirm his removal from the presidency.