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South Korea The Chun Regime
Having suppressed the Kwangju uprising with brute force,
General Chun Doo Hwan further tightened his grip on the
government. He and three of his close associates served as the
core of the junta committee, known as the Special Committee for
National Security Measures. The three were Lieutenant General
Ch'a Kyu-hon (deputy chief of staff of the army), Major General
Roh Tae Woo (commander of the Capital Garrison Command), and
Major General Chong Ho-yong (commander of the Special Forces).
The junta vested in itself the authority to pass laws and to make
all decisions affecting the state until a new National Assembly
came into being.
On August 5, 1980, Chun promoted himself from lieutenant
general to full general in preparation for retiring from the army
on August 22. On August 27 he was elected president by the
National Conference for Unification, receiving 2,524 of the 2,525
votes cast. The single dissenting vote was invalidated for an
unknown reason.
Chun presented his objective at his September 1, 1980,
inauguration: to create a new society where all past corrupt
practices would be replaced by mutual trust and justice. In order
to accomplish this goal, he planned to remove the old politicians
from the scene; only those certified as "clean" would be
permitted to participate in building the new order.
In the economic field, Chun intended to do away with
excessive protection of industries and to encourage creativity.
An increase in employment opportunities would be facilitated, and
cooperation and coprosperity between labor and management would
be brought about. Farmers' income would be increased by
continuing the Saemaul Movement.
Data as of June 1990
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