Was Park Chung-hee Really Made President by a Coup? The 1963 Election Explained
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
Many assume Park Chung-hee became president solely through the May 16, 1961 coup. That coup did topple the Second Republic and established the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (Gukga Jaegun Choegohoe) which Park chaired from July 1961 until December 1963. However, Park later ran as a civilian and won the direct presidential election on October 15, 1963. Contemporary scholars note the 1963 vote was competitive and not evidently fraudulent: Park received about 4.7 million votes (46.64%) to Yun Posun’s 4.5 million (45.09%). While the coup enabled Park’s rise to national prominence and prolonged military-led rule, it is inaccurate to state he became president by the coup itself—he gained the presidency through a legitimate, direct election and was re-elected in 1967 before later imposing the authoritarian “Yushin” (Yushin Restoration) system in 1972.
