Park Chung-hee

About Park Chung-hee

The South Korean military dictator who ruled from 1961 to 1979. Park seized power in a military coup and governed with an iron fist. He drove an economic miracle that transformed South Korea from one of the poorest countries to a developed nation. Park suppressed democracy and political opposition. He normalized relations with Japan in 1965, a controversial decision. Park was assassinated in 1979 by his own intelligence chief during a dinner. His daughter Park Geun-hye became South Koreas first female President in 2013 but was impeached and imprisoned for corruption in 2017.