(Seoul) Former South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who died on Tuesday at age 90, ruled the country with an iron fist between 1980 and 1988 until mass protests forced him to resign, and remained one of South Korea’s most hated personalities.
Chun Doo-hwan is nicknamed the “Butcher of Gwangju” for ordering the bloody repression of an uprising against his regime in this town in the southwest of the country in 1980. The official death toll is 200, but some organizations claim that this number could be three times higher.
His military regime also oversaw South Korea’s strong economic growth and secured Seoul to host the Olympics in 1988.
He was sentenced to death for treason in 1996, including for the crackdown on Gwangju, but his execution was commuted on appeal, and he was released following a presidential pardon.
Born in 1931, Chun Doo-hwan entered the military academy to train as an officer at the height of the Korean War.
He climbed the ranks under the orders of the military Park Chung-hee, his protector, who took power in a coup in 1961.
When Park Chung-hee was assassinated in 1979, Chun Doo-hwan took control of the murder investigation before launching his own military coup two months later, thereby taking control of South Korea.
Gwangju uprising
For a few months, thousands of residents and students take to the streets of Gwangju against the power of Chun Doo-hwan, who declares martial law and suppresses protests in a bloodbath.
This dark episode, which has become the symbol of the struggle for democracy in South Korea, is denounced by Chun Doo-hwan and far-right personalities as a “riot”, fomented by sympathizers of North Korea.
Ruling the country with an iron fist between 1980 and 1988, his reign was marked by the widespread use of torture against dissidents and the crackdown on freedom of expression.
During a visit to Burma in 1983, North Korean agents attempted to kill him by detonating a bomb during a memorial service to Aung San, the murdered Burmese independence hero and father of Aung San Suu. Kyi.
Foreign Minister and Chun Doo-hwan’s chief economic adviser died in the blast, but Chun Doo-hwan survived; delayed by traffic, he was not present at the ceremony.
Resignation
In 1987, massive demonstrations against his regime forced him to accept the restoration of democracy. He retired the following year after his longtime ally Roh Tae-woo won the election.
He was then the first South Korean leader to transfer power peacefully.
After the election of opposition leader Kim Young-sam as president in 1993, Chun Doo-hwan is charged with treason and corruption.
During his trial, he maintains that the case was “politically motivated” and defends his coup and his mandate. “I did my best to save the country as it faced imminent danger,” he said then.
Chun Doo-hwan has denied any direct involvement in suppressing the Gwangju uprising.