May 16 coup

The May 16 coup was a military takeover in South Korea on May 16, 1961, led by Park Chung-hee. It overthrew the Second Republic and established military rule.

Park Chung-hee: South Korean army officer who led the 1961 coup and later served as president from 1963 to 1979. He organized the coup and became the junta’s central leader.
April Revolution: The 1960 South Korean popular uprising that forced President Syngman Rhee from power. It brought down the First Republic and opened the unstable transition preceding the coup.
Chang Myon: South Korean politician who served as prime minister during the Second Republic. His government was ousted while he was in office, though he escaped the initial roundup.
Third Republic of Korea: South Korea’s constitutional republic established in 1963, with Park Chung-hee as president. The junta transferred power to a civilian-form government while Park retained the presidency.
Second Republic of Korea: South Korea’s parliamentary republic, established in 1960 after Syngman Rhee’s resignation and ended by the 1961 coup. Its parliamentary system contrasts with the military government installed by the coup.
Korean Army: The land-warfare branch of South Korea’s armed forces. Coup plotters used army units to occupy Seoul and key government sites.
First Republic of Korea: South Korea’s first republican government, led by Syngman Rhee from 1948 until 1960. Its collapse created the political transition from which the coup emerged.
Kim Jong-pil: South Korean intelligence officer and politician who helped organize the May 16 coup. He helped build the officer network behind the coup and later founded the KCIA.
Park Chung-hee era: The period of South Korean rule under Park Chung-hee from 1961 to 1979. The coup began Park’s long dominance of South Korean politics.
June Democracy Movement: The mass South Korean pro-democracy movement of June 1987 that forced constitutional reform. It challenged the military-authoritarian political order that began with the coup.

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