Chun Doo-hwan
Source: Web (news.cgtn.com)
Statesmanship & Statesmen • Historical Archive • 🇰🇷 South Korea • 22 views

Chun Doo-hwan 🇰🇷

전두환 (Known as "Chun Doo-hwan")
["military_officer","general","head_of_state","president","authoritarian_leader"]
Born Jan 18, 1931 🇰🇷 Hapcheon, South Korea
Passed Away Nov 23, 2021 Seoul, South Korea
Lifespan 90 years old
22 views
Notice / Correction
"I did what I believed was necessary to protect the nation from communist subversion."

Archival Overview

Military dictator and President of South Korea (1980–1988) who seized power in the December 12 military coup, ordered the brutal suppression of the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising, and oversaw dramatic economic modernization before bowing to democratic elections.

Biographical Record

Chun Doo-hwan graduated from the Korea Military Academy in 1955 and formed the Hanahoe secret military clique. Following the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in October 1979, Chun engineered the December 12 military coup d'état to seize control of the South Korean armed forces, and expanded martial law across the country in May 1980.

When citizens of Gwangju protested against martial law, Chun deployed special forces who brutally massacred hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in the Gwangju Democratization Movement. Ruling as president of the Fifth Republic, his regime oversaw rapid economic growth and won the hosting rights to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Massive nationwide protests in June 1987 forced him to accept democratic constitutional reform. In 1996, he was convicted of mutiny, treason, and bribery, sentenced to death, and later pardoned.

Key Life Milestones

December 12, 1979

December 12 Military Coup d'État

Led the Hanahoe military faction to arrest the army chief of staff and consolidate dictatorial control of South Korea.

June 29, 1987

Capitulation to June Democracy Movement

Forced by millions of demonstrators to concede to direct presidential elections, paving the way for South Korean democracy.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

0 messages recorded

Leave a Respectful Tribute

No tributes recorded yet. Be the first to leave a message in honor of Chun Doo-hwan.

Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Private home / Cremated (denied National Cemetery burial)
Seoul, South Korea
GPS: 37.5665, 126.9780
View on Memory Atlas
Archival Standards PastLegacies adheres to strict neutral biographical guidelines and legal standards of remembrance. Next-of-kin may request modifications or removal at any time via our expedited process.