2. Liberation and Division Washington suggested the division of Korea by the 38 th parallel to disarm the Japanese army; Lack of US preparation for Korea because the dropping of atomic bomb ended WW II earlier than Washington expected For two years (1945-1947) Washington and Moscow negotiated to reunify Korea without success.

3. Liberation and Division On November 14, 1947, the UN adopted a resolution that called for reuniting the two Koreas and holding elections to establish a single government. Moscow and Pyongyang refused the resolution. The South held elections in May 1948 and on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (ROK) came into being with President Syngman Rhee (Yi Sung-man).

4. Syngman Rhee During the Japanese colonial period, he spent most of his time in the US to promote Korean independence. Few South Koreans had any experience or training in democracy. Rhee ruled more like an autocrat. Economic problems due to desperate poverty; hyperinflation, lack of food, clothing, and shelter. Industrial base Japan built remained in the North

5. Korean War: 1950-1953 On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded the South; The South could do little to stop the advance. DPRK troops overran Seoul in three days. The UN Security Council passed resolutions to aid South Korea to defend itself. By August 1950, North Korea took control most of the Korean Peninsula except the surrounding areas of Busan. In September 1950, General McArthur led UN forces landed in Inchon, a turning point of the Korean War.

6. Korean War: 1950-1953 Chinese intervention on November 25, 1950. China/North Korean forces captured Seoul in January, 1951, but the UN forces took Seoul back in March, 1951. By July 1951, the battle lines solidified into a stalemate and truce talks began. On July 27, 1953, the US, North Korea, and China signed the armistice agreement, but South Korea refused to sign, so two Koreas are technically at war.

7. Syngman Rhee’s Dictatorship Rhee was elected the president in 1948 by the National Assembly, but he was not expected to win the second term in 1952. To amend the constitution, he intimidated the legislature through arrests and detention. He won the election in 1952 and 1956, but by 1958, his support was fading throughout Korea. He was reelected in 1960 via election fraud. Protests broke out and Rhee reluctantly left office on April 26, 1960 and spent rest of his life in exile in Hawaii.

8. First Democratization South Korea changed its government system to a Parliamentary one to shift power from the executive branch to the National Assembly. Elections held in July 1960 brought the Democratic Party, Rhee’s opposition, to power and Chang Myon became prime minister.

9. Challenges of Chang Myon The Democratic Party was severely fragmented, making it difficult to achieve consensus in formulating policy. South Korean society was deeply polarized; left and right— Han Sung-joo wrote, “Korea lacked the proper pluralistic social base, governmental and administrative structure was too centralized, and the majority of the people lacked a democratic political culture

10. Challenges of Chang Myon Students who played an important role in bring down the Rhee government wanted to continue their involvement in politics. Student demonstrations continued on a regular basis, and sometimes they marched into the National Assembly. Curtailing of the executive branch left Chang Myon with far less ability to bring order to this chaotic society.

11. Park Chung-hee and Military Rule: 1961-1979 On May 16, 1961, the military led by Park Chung-hee seized control of the ROK government and ousted the Chang Myon administration. Park dissolved the National Assembly and organized the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation and ruled through this military junta.

12. Reasons for the Coup 1 They were concerned with the state of the political system. Politics and the government were in disarray, the National Assembly was often paralyzed, and there seem to be little anyone could do about it. In short, from the military’s perspective, civilian democracy was not working well and the military needed to bring order to this chaos.

13. Reasons for the Coup 2 The coup leaders believed the government had an ineffective record of managing the economy, and corruption was rife among civilian politicians and senior military officers. Park Chung-hee and his followers seemed to be convinced that they could do a better job.

14. Reasons for the Coup 3 The coup was not only a revolt against civilian government but also against senior military officers whom their juniors viewed as corrupt and motivated by their own self-interest rather than by a desire to protect the nation.

15. The Park Chung-hee administration Elected to be come president in 1963 and 1967. Korea had two-term limits, but amended the constitution and ran again in 1971. In 1972, Park adopted the Yushin Constitution, declared martial law, dissolved the National Assembly while banning political parties and closing college campuses.

16. Reason for Park to Impose Yunshin Constitution Park was becoming increasingly unhappy with the disruptive nature of democratic politics and the difficulty of controlling the process to produce the outcomes he desired. Dissent was rising and critics becoming more outspoken. Expansion of presidential power allowed Park to have firmer control over the South Korean economy, including labor and business. The Nixon doctrine worried Park about the direction of the ROK-US alliance.

17. End of the Park Administration Park’s regime and political future reached a crossroads in August 1979 that grew out of a labor dispute YH Incident. Labor workers (mostly women) at YH Trading began a sit-in protest at their factory over large-scale layoffs. The riot police severely beat the protesters, resulting in the death of Kim Kyung-sook. Large demonstrations followed in Pusan and Masan and assassination of Park by KCIA director Kim Jae- kyu followed.

18. Park Chung-hee’s legacy Economic development GNP increased from $2.3 billion in 1962 to $64 billion in 1980 ($204 in 1989) Per capita GNP increase from $87 in 1962 to $1,645 in 1980, $4,830 in 1989 and $20,764 in 2010 (PPP value is $30,041) Employed technocrats to the government to promote economic development Boosted national pride and self-confidence

19. Park Chung-hee’s legacy Autocratic Rule Emergency Measure; In December 1971 he forced through the National Assembly a bill granting him complete power to control, regulate, and mobilize the people, the economy, the press, and everything else in the public domain. In October 1972, he proclaimed martial law, dissolved the National Assembly, closed all universities and colleges, imposed strict press censorship, and suspended political activities.

20. Park Chung-hee’s legacy Within a few days he "submitted" a new draft constitution- -designated the yushin (revitalization) constitution--to a national referendum. The 1972 constitution allowed Park to succeed himself indefinitely, to appoint one-third of the National Assembly's members, and to exercise emergency powers at will. The president was to be chosen by the more than 2,000 locally elected deputies of the supposedly nonpartisan National Conference for Unification, who were to cast their votes as an electoral college without debate.

21. Choi Kyu-ha and Chun Doo- hwan After Park’s assassination, an emergency cabinet named Prime Minister Choi Kyu-ha as interim president in accordance with the Yushin Constitution. He declared martial law and designated Army Chief of Staff General Cheung Sung-hwa as martial law commander.

22. Chun Doo-hwan In 1979, Chun Doo-hwan was appointed to head the Defense Security Command (DSC), the most powerful of South Korea’s military intelligence agencies. Since DSC had jurisdiction in dealing with military coups and revolts, Chun was given the responsibility of investigating Park’s murder. However, Chun used DSC to instigate a “multistage military coup.”

23. Chun Doo-hwan The 12-12 Incident— Chun sent a detachment to arrest Army Chief of Staff and martial law commander Cheung Sung-hwa, alleging his involvement in Park’s assassination; false charge, but Chun used the allegation to remove the senior commander and take control of the military chain of command. Kim Jae-Kyu was already arrested and later convicted and executed.

24. Chun Doo-hwan With the assistance of other army units, Chun seized the Ministry of National Defense and Army Headquarters in addition to shutting down most media outlets. In April 1980, Chun prodded President Choi to promote him to lieutenant and director appointee of the KCIA (an illegal move). On May 14, 1980, a massive demonstration in Seoul in protest

25. Chun Doo-hwan On May 17, 1980, President Choi declared full martial law and Chun becomes the martial law commander. Chun clamped down on student demonstrations closed the colleges and universities and shut down the National Assembly and headquarters of most political parties. arrested student leaders and outlaws labor strikes, arrested 3 Kim’s, and banned all political activities.

26. Kwangju in 1980 These actions quieted most protests, but demonstrations continued in Kwangju. On May 18, 1980, Chun sent troops, mainly special forces with little training in controlling demonstrations to stop unrest. Soldiers badly beat some of the protesters, resulting in many deaths.

27. Kwangju in 1980 Students and other citizens fought back using weapons from local armories and police stations to drive out the soldiers. Failing to subdue the demonstrators, the troops withdrew, creating a perimeter around the city. On May 27, Chun sent 20,000 troops from the 20 th Division to retake Kwangju.

28. Kwangju in 1980 Kwangju was retaken with brutal force. 200-2000 were estimated to be killed—Kwangju Massacre. These events made impossible to Chun to establish any kind of legitimacy.

29. Kwangju in 1980 Many Koreans believed the US should have intervened to halt the Kwangju massacre, but Washington had little leverage and was reluctant to impose economic sanctions due to pre-existing economic difficulties and security concerns. The US was also worried any wrong move can lead Korea to become another Iran.

30. Kwangju in 1980 The US sent a air carrier to warn North Korea not to exploit the events. Washington chose security over democracy in South Korea and supported contingency plans to maintain law and order. Chun continued cracking down on protests using force.

31. Kwangju in 1980 The Deployment of the 20 th Division. The ROK government was required to notify the US- Korea Combined Forces Command (CFC); South Korean authority informed the CFC about moving the 20 th Division to Kwangju for operation, but CFC Commander in Chief General John Wickham was out of country for a meeting in Washington and the South Korea deputy accepted the notification.

32. Kwangju in 1980 US actions and apparent lack of support for South Korean democracy generated a lot of criticism among some quarters in South Korea and helped stoke anti- Americanism. The South Korean college students’ belief that moving a military division required permissions from the CFC instead of notification promoted large-scale protests against the US.

33. Chun Doo-hwan and the 5 th Republic In August 1980, he promoted himself to four-star general. Soon after, Choi Kyu-ha resigned from the presidency. On September 1, 1980, Chun inaugurated as president. He changed the constitution and added one 7-year term limit to the presidency. He maintained may elements of the Yushin system.

34. Chun Doo-hwan and the 5 th Republic Due to the lack of economic training, he brought in many well-trained technocrats to guide ROK economic policy. He delegated power to technocrats concerning economic policies; reduced inflation and government spending, and attracted more foreign direct investment. Maintained heavy control over the media, banning more than 150 periodicals and dismissed numerous journalists from their positions.

35. Chun Doo-hwan and the 5 th Republic Chun launched a “purification campaign (Jeonghwa) to clean up society by purging dissidents and corrupt officials while cracking down on other types of crimes. Eventually relaxed by softening the national security law and abolishing midnight-4:00 AM curfew.

36. Transition to Democracy Factors that help the transition to democracy Economic development Education Industrialization Culture that promotes pluralistic society International influence (diffusion/domino/snowball effects)

37. Transition to Democracy Surprisingly Chun was committed to keep one 7-year term limit. Opponents wanted to end the electoral college and replace it with an election by direct popular vote. Energized in Spring 1986 with the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. In 1986, the government formed the Special Constitutional Revisions Committee and began negotiations with opposition groups to change the electoral system.

38. Transition to Democracy On April 13, 1987, Chun shocked the country by announcing that he was suspending all talks to revise the constitution. He argued that the revision process could not be completed before the December 1987 elections. Instead he maintained that the deliberations should continue under a new administration after Seoul hosted the Olympics in 1988. Soon after, he appointed Roh Tae-woo as his the candidate for the ruling Democratic Justice Party.

39. Transition to Democracy With constitutional and election reforms off the table, protests intensified in spring 1987. The protests were fed by the minjung (common people) movement, a diverse combination of beliefs including Marxism, nationalism, Catholic liberation theology, ant-economic dependency, and a peace movement. The movement was the dominant driving force for democratization.

40. Transition to Democracy The intellectual energy came from university professors and students, but its proponents called for all the common people who were oppressed to rise up and reclaim their destiny which had been dominated by military dictators, big business (chaebol), and foreign powers—the main argument of the minjung movement.

41. Transition to Democracy As the unrest escalated, Chun faced the same dilemma Pack faced in 1979—crack down on the demonstrators or see some sort of compromise. On June 29, 1987, presidential candidate Roh Tae-woo announced that he was willing to adopt opposition’s demands including direct presidential election system.

42. Transition to Democracy With Roh’s announcement on June 29, Chun reversed his position and allowed the constitution revisions committee to continue its work.

43. Transition to Democracy Reasons for Chun to change his mind and allow constitutional revision going forward? 1) The Olympic games to be held in September 1988 were fast approaching; South Korea wanted to showcase its economic development and international media focused on South Korea 2) The US pressured Chun to take a more moderate course

44. 3) Protestors were drawn from a broad-cross-section of Korean society, a grand democratic alliance, middle class. Crushing protests that included businessmen and housewives in addition to college students and labor workers was far more difficult.

45. Transition to Democracy 4) Chun’s and Roh’s political calculations; it was clear that the pressure for democratization was growing and the ability to resist the tide becoming more difficult to stop. Chun and Roh saw an oportunity to compromise with the opposition, keept the ruling party in power, and secure Roh’s victory in the upcoming presidential election assuming Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung would not unite.

46. 1987 Presidential Election A direct popular election was held, but Roh Tae-woo won the election; Roh received 36.6% of the vote, Kim Young-sam got 28%, and Kim Dae-jung 27%, Kim Jong-pil 8.1%. Although a former military general and Chun Doo- hwan’s handpicked successor Roh tae-woo won the election, the transition to democracy is achieved.