South Korea

Modern history

Modern historyMain article: , built in memory and remembrance of the (1950–1953) Between 1962 and 1994, the grew at an average of 10% annually, fueled by annual export growth of 20%, in a period called the President played a pivotal in rapidly developing the through President , the 2000 recipient for advancing democracy and human rights in South Korea and East Asia and for reconciliation with North Korea, was sometimes called the " of Asia" Korea was the first chair of the during the

Despite the initial plan of a in the , escalating antagonism between the and the eventually led to the establishment of separate governments, each with its own ideology, leading to the into two political entities in 1948: and South Korea.

In the South, , an opponent of communism, who had been backed and appointed by the United States as head of the provisional government, won the first presidential elections of the newly declared Republic of Korea in May. In the North, a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, was appointed premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in September.

In October the Soviet Union declared Kim Il-sung's government as sovereign over both parts. The UN declared Rhee's government as "a lawful government having effective control and jurisdiction over that part of Korea where the UN Temporary Commission on Korea was able to observe and consult" and the Government "based on elections which was observed by the Temporary Commission" in addition to a statement that "this is the only such government in Korea." Both leaders began an authoritarian repression of their political opponents inside their region, seeking for a unification of Korea under their control. While South Korea's request for military support was denied by the United States, North Korea's military was heavily reinforced by the Soviet Union.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking the , the Cold War's first major conflict, which continued until 1953. At the time, the Soviet Union had boycotted the United Nations (UN), thus forfeiting their veto rights. This allowed the UN to intervene in a civil war when it became apparent that the superior North Korean forces would unify the entire country. The Soviet Union and China backed North Korea, with the later participation of millions of . After an ebb and flow that saw both sides almost pushed to the brink of extinction, and massive losses among Korean civilians in both the north and the south, the war eventually reached a stalemate. The 1953 armistice, never signed by South Korea, split the peninsula along the near the original demarcation line. No peace treaty was ever signed, resulting in the two countries remaining technically at war. Over 1.2 million people died during the Korean War.

In 1960, (the "April 19 Revolution") led to the resignation of the autocratic, corrupt President Syngman Rhee. A period of political instability followed, broken by General 's against the weak and ineffectual government the next year. Park took over as president until in 1979, overseeing rapid as well as implementing political repression. Park was heavily criticised as a ruthless military dictator, who in 1972 extended his rule by creating a , which gave the president sweeping (almost dictatorial) powers and permitted him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. However, the developed significantly during Park's tenure and the government developed the , the , and laid the foundation for economic development during his 17-year tenure.

The years after Park's assassination were marked again by political turmoil, as the previously suppressed opposition leaders all campaigned to run for president in the sudden political void. In 1979 there came the led by General . Following the Coup d'état, Chun Doo-hwan planned to rise to power through several measures. On May 17, Chun Doo-hwan forced the Cabinet to expand martial law to the whole nation, which had previously not applied to the island of . The expanded martial law closed universities, banned political activities and further curtailed the press. Chun's assumption of the presidency in the events of May 17, triggered nationwide protests demanding democracy, in particular in the city of , to which Chun sent special forces to violently suppress the .

Chun subsequently created the National Defense Emergency Policy Committee and took the presidency according to his political plan. Chun and his government held South Korea under a despotic rule until 1987, when a student, Park Jong-chul, was tortured to death. On June 10, the revealed the incident, igniting the around the country. Eventually, Chun's party, the , and its leader, announced the 6.29 Declaration, which included the direct election of the president. Roh went on to win the election by a narrow margin against the two main opposition leaders, and .

In 1988, Seoul hosted the . It became a member of the (OECD) in 1996. It was adversely affected by the . However, the country recovered and continued its economic growth, albeit at a slower pace.

In June 2000, as part of president Kim Dae-jung's "" of engagement, a took place in , the capital of North Korea. Later that year, Kim received the "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular". However, because of discontent among the population for fruitless approaches to the North under the previous administrations and, amid North Korean provocations, a conservative government was elected in 2007 led by President , former . More recently, won the . Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan jointly co-hosted the . However, later because of conflicting claims of over the , in what became known as the .

In 2016, President Park Geun-hye's administration was accused of corruption, bribery, and influence-peddling for the involvement of in state affairs. Soon-sil was officially charged in November 2016. Following the scandal, there has been a series of massive demonstrations that started in the first week of November 2016. On December 9, the National Assembly Park, suspending her from office. As a result, Prime Minister became the acting President. On March 10, 2017, the voted to remove President Park from office immediately, ending her tenure as president.