Choi Kyu-hah (, ; July 16, 1919 – October 22, 2006) was a South Korean politician who served as the fourth

president of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (), is the head of state and head of government of South Korea. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of South Korea, government and is ...

from 1979 to 1980. An

independent politician An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicia ...

, he served as the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

under President

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

from 1975 to 1979.

Early life

Choi was born in Wonju-myeon,

Wonju Wonju (; ) is the most populous Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. History During the time of Joseon, Gr ...

, Kōgen-dō,

Korea, Empire of Japan From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

(now in

Gangwon Province, South Korea Gangwon Province (), officially Gangwon State (), is a administrative divisions of South Korea, Special Self-Governing Province of South Korea. It is known as the largest and population density, least densely populated subdivision of South Korea. ...

). Choi was born into a (upper class) family; his grandfather had been a scholar at the Sungkyunkwan. During this period, Choi used the Japanese name . After graduating from Kyunggi High School and the Tokyo Higher Normal School (today the

University of Tsukuba is a List of national universities in Japan, national research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan. The university has 28 college clusters and schools with around 16,500 students (as of 2014). The main Tsukuba ca ...

) with diplomas in English language and literature, Choi briefly worked as a teacher at the Taikyū Public Junior High School, before moving to

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

for studies at the . Choi graduated in 1943; two years later he became a professor at the Keijō Normal School.

Political career

Choi served as Ambassador to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

from 1964 to 1967,

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from 1967 to 1971; and as prime minister from 1975 to 1979. After the assassination of

in 1979, Choi became acting president; the prime minister stood next in line for the presidency under ''Article 48'' of the

Yushin Constitution The Fourth Republic of Korea () was the government of South Korea from November 1972 to February 1981. The Fourth Republic was founded on the approval of the Yushin Constitution in the 1972 constitutional referendum, codifying the ''de facto'' ...

. Due to the unrest resulting from Park's authoritarian rule, Choi promised democratic

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

, as under Park elections had been widely seen as rigged. Choi also promised a new constitution to replace the highly authoritarian Yushin Constitution. Choi was the sole candidate in an election on 6 December for the balance of Park's term, becoming the country's fourth president.

Coup and resignation

In December 1979, Major General

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

and close allies within the military staged a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

against Choi's government. They quickly removed the army chief of staff and virtually controlled the government by early 1980. In April 1980, due to increasing pressure from Chun and other politicians, Choi appointed Chun head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. In May, Chun declared

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

and dropped all pretense of civilian government, becoming the '' de facto'' ruler of the country and reducing Choi to a figurehead. By then, student protests were escalating in Seoul and

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

. The protests in Gwangju resulted in the Gwangju uprising in which about 987 civilians were killed within a five-day period by Chun's military. Persuaded by

Kim Chung-yul Kim Chung-yul (, 29 September 1917 – 7 September 1992) was a South Korean Air Force officer who served as the prime minister of South Korea from July 1987 to February 1988. Personal life He was born on 29 September 1917. He graduated from ...

, Choi was forced to resign, stating he wished to "leave behind a precedent of peaceful transfer of power."

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Park Chung-hoon became acting president, until Chun's election as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

on September 1, 1980.

Later life

After his resignation, Choi lived quietly out of the public eye and died on October 22, 2006. His funeral was held on October 26, 2006, and was attended by President

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

, first lady Kwon Yang-sook, Prime Minister

Han Myeong-sook Han Myeong-sook (; ; born March 24, 1944) is a South Korean politician who served as the Prime Minister of South Korea, prime minister of South Korea from 2006 to 2007. A former member of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP), she was South Ko ...

, and former presidents Chun Doo-hwan, Kim Young-sam and

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...

. Choi was buried in

Daejeon National Cemetery The Daejeon National Cemetery () is located in Hyeonchungwon-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea. It is South Korea's second national cemetery after the Seoul National Cemetery and is overseen by the Ministry of Patriots' and Veterans' Affai ...

In popular culture

The 2023 South Korean movie 12.12: The Day portrays President Choi under the pseudonym "Choi Han-gyu".

Notes

References

External links

President Choi Kyu-ha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Kyu-Hah Presidents of South Korea Acting presidents of South Korea 1919 births 2006 deaths Liberal Party (South Korea) politicians University of Tsukuba alumni Ministers of foreign affairs of South Korea People from Wonju 20th-century South Korean politicians South Korean Confucianists Gangneung Choe clan 20th-century presidents in Asia South Korean anti-communists Recipients of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa Burials at Daejeon National Cemetery Korean expatriates in Manchukuo Ambassadors of South Korea to Malaysia