Choi Kyu-hah

Template:Short description Template:Family name hatnote Template:Use dmy dates Choi Kyu-hah (Korean: Template:Category handler, ; 16 July 1919 – 22 October 2006) was a South Korean politician who served as the fourth President of South Korea from 1979 to 1980. An independent politician, he served as the Prime Minister under the administration of President Park Chung Hee from 1975 to 1979.

Early life

Choi was born in Wonju-myeon, Wonju, Kōgen-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan (now in Gangwon Province, South Korea). Choi was born into a (upper class) family; his grandfather had been a scholar at the Sungkyunkwan. During this period, Choi used the Japanese name .

After graduating from Kyunggi High School and the Tokyo Higher Normal School (today the University of Tsukuba) with diplomas in English language and literature, Choi briefly worked as a teacher at the Taikyū Public Junior High School, before moving to Manchukuo for studies at the Template:Ill. Choi graduated in 1943; two years later he became a professor at the Seoul National University of Education

Choi served as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1959, Ambassador to Malaysia from 1964 to 1967, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea from 1967 to ~1972.

Presidency (1979–1980)

After the assassination of Park Chung Hee in 1979, Choi became acting president; the prime minister stood next in line for the presidency under Article 48 of the Yushin Constitution. Due to the unrest resulting from Park's authoritarian rule, Choi promised democratic elections, as under Park elections had been widely seen as rigged. Choi also promised a new constitution to replace the highly authoritarian Yushin Constitution. Choi was the sole candidate in an election on 6 December for the balance of Park's term, becoming the country's fourth president.

Coup and resignation

On 12 December 1979, Major General Chun Doo-hwan and close allies within the military staged a coup d'état against Choi's government. They quickly removed the army chief of staff and virtually controlled the government by early 1980.

In April 1980, due to increasing pressure from Chun and other politicians, Choi appointed Chun head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. In May, Chun declared martial law and dropped all pretense of civilian government, becoming the de facto ruler of the country and reducing Choi to a figurehead. By then, student protests were escalating in Seoul and Gwangju. The protests in Gwangju resulted in the Gwangju uprising in which about 987 civilians were killed within a five-day period by Chun's military.

Persuaded by Kim Chung-yul, Choi was forced to resign, stating he wished to "leave behind a precedent of peaceful transfer of power." Prime Minister Park Choong-hoon became acting president, until Chun's election as President on 1 September 1980.

Post-presidency (1980–2006)

After his resignation, Choi lived quietly out of the public eye and died on 22 October 2006. His funeral was held on 26 October 2006, and was attended by President Roh Moo-hyun, first lady Kwon Yang-sook, Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, and former presidents Chun Doo-hwan, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung. Choi was buried in Daejeon National Cemetery.

Honours

National

• South Korea:
  • File:Grand Order of Mugunghwa (South Korea) - ribbon bar.svg Recipient of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa

Foreign

Order of King Abdulaziz (Saudi Arabia)
Order of Mubarak the Great (Kuwait)

In popular culture

The 2023 South Korean movie 12.12: The Day portrays President Choi under the pseudonym "Choi Han-gyu".

External links

• President Choi Kyu-ha