The public designation of Chun's successor was seen as a final affront to a delayed and deferred process to revise the South Korean constitution to permit once again direct election of the president.

Although pressure on the regime in the form of demonstrations by students and other groups had been building for some time, the announcement finally triggered massive and effective protests.

The opposition's key demand was reinstating direct presidential elections, and Chun sought to foil this by initiating a campaign of delay, deliberation, and deferment.

[4][8] This action intensified unrest and broader anti-government sentiment, especially as residents of many areas of Seoul such as Mok-dong were displaced to make way for planned facilities, but Chun continued his program to install Roh as his successor.

[8] Meanwhile, anti-government sentiment was growing among the public; a May 1987 survey of the "middle class" published in Hankook Ilbo found that 85.7% of respondents felt that it was "more desirable to protect human rights even at the cost of economic growth".

[9] Throughout this period, the labor movement, university students, and churches in particular formed a mutually supporting alliance that put increasing pressure on the regime.

[4] This mobilized a large portion of civil society, in addition to the "official" political opposition, forming the core of the resistance that would become widespread during the decisive events of June.

On June 8, the government's Ministries of Internal Affairs and Justice pre-emptively declared the planned protest actions as illegal assemblies, and the Guk-bon as a "subversive organization".

[25] The Democratic Justice Party convention where Roh's nomination as successor president took place opened at 6 p.m. on June 10 at the Jamsil Arena[26] in Seoul.

[21] Despite police efforts, the National Rally Against the Cover-Up and Torture Death of Park Jong-chul and to Repeal the Constitution (박종철군 고문치사 조작, 은폐 규탄 및 호헌철폐 국민대회) was successfully held in 18 cities across the country.

Cardinal Kim Su-hwan, the Archbishop of Seoul (1922–2009, served 1968–1998), announced that priests were ready to go to the front lines in order to prevent police from storming the building.

On June 11, the National Police Agency defended its actions on the previous day, describing rallies as illegal, and as violent "disorderly conduct", and declaring their attention to crackdown on further unrest.

[32] The same day, a thousand students attempted to enter the cathedral in order to join the occupation, but were blocked by riot police, who arrested at least 301 people.

[39] On June 18, the National Rally for the Abolition of Tear Gas Grenades (Korean: 최루탄추방국민대회; Hanja: 催淚彈追放國民大會) brought 1.5 million people into the streets.

[27] That night, a protestor, Lee Tae-chun, was fatally wounded in Busan after falling from an overpass due to police releasing tear gas onto the structure.

While his death was ruled to be caused solely via falling, an autopsy revealed a skull fracture that implied the impact of a tear gas grenade.

[43] On June 19, Acting Prime Minister Lee Han-key [ko] threatened "extraordinary measures" in a televised address if protests did not cease.

They requested a cancellation of the April 13 measure suspending constitutional reform, a release of all prisoners of conscience, a guarantee to rights of freedom of assembly, demonstration, and the press, and an end to police use of tear gas.

Gwangju saw its largest demonstrations since the 1980 Uprising, and civilians outnumbered police to such an extent that they were able to successfully perform peaceful assemblies in Suwon, Mokpo and Yeosu.

[47] Eventually, Roh Tae-woo issued the June 29 Declaration, capitulating to the demands of the protesters by promising to amend the Constitution and to release political prisoners, including opposition leader Kim Dae-jung, who had been under house arrest since his return from exile in 1985.

The revelation of the North Korean conspiracy against the plane, and the arrival in Seoul of Kim Hyon-hui (born 1962), one of the agents responsible for the attack, the day before the election created a profitable environment for Roh Tae-woo.

[51] Declassified documents have since confirmed that Chun's government deliberately sought to exploit the events for political gain, including by ensuring that Kim was extradited before the election.

A segment of the 1999 film Peppermint Candy, spanning 20 years of recent South Korean history, is set during the events of 1987, while the protagonist is working as a policeman.

[54][55] The 2017 film 1987: When the Day Comes, directed by Jang Joon-hwan, depicts how the death of Park Jong-chul sparked a chain of events leading to the mass uprising in June 1987.