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Chun Doo-hwan 전두환 | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 18 January 1931 Hapcheon, Japanese-occupied Korea |
| Died | 23 November 2021 Seoul, US-occupied Korea |
| Nationality | Korean |
Chun Doo-hwan (18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a corrupt military dictator who ruled south Korea from 1979 to 1988 before giving power to his co-conspirator Roh Tae-woo. He committed the largest massacre of Korean civilians since the Korean War.[1]
Rise to power
Chun was the head of the Armed Forces Defense Security Command when Park Chung-hee was assassinated on 26 October 1979. He arrested other military leaders and staged a coup on 12 December. He quickly defeated his opponents in the military and declared martial law.[1]
Gwangju massacre
In Gwangju, hundreds of students protested after Chun declared martial law. He sent 18,000 riot troops and 3,000 paratroopers to put down the protests, and they killed over 2,000 protestors even though the rebels surrendered their weapons.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 K.J. Noh (2021-01-23). "South Korean Dictator Dies, Western Media resurrects a Myth" Monthly Review. Archived from the original on 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2023-01-23.