Politics1973 – 1979 (declaration 1 March 1976)

Emergency Decrees and the March First Democratic Declaration

When a campaign to amend the Yushin constitution arose, the government suppressed it with emergency decrees; in 1976 dissidents issued the March First Democratic Declaration at Myeongdong Cathedral.

Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul, where the March 1 Declaration for Democracy and National Salvation was read in 1976
korea.net · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

Opposition to Yushin grew, as in Jang Jun-ha’s 1973 campaign for a million signatures petitioning for constitutional revision. From Emergency Decree No. 1 in January 1974 the government issued decree after decree forbidding criticism or calls to amend the constitution, and Decree No. 9 in 1975 banned all opposition to the Yushin system. Many were imprisoned in the National Democratic Youth and Student Federation case and the People’s Revolutionary Party reconstruction case.

On 1 March 1976 dissidents including Yun Po-sun, Kim Dae-jung, Ham Seok-heon and Mun Ik-hwan read the March First Declaration for Democratic National Salvation at Myeongdong Cathedral, demanding the repeal of the emergency decrees and Park’s resignation.

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States and rulers at the time: South Korea — President Park Chung-hee
Places: Myeongdong Cathedral

People

Yun Po-sun1897 – 1990
participant · 4th President (1960–1962), elected by the National Assembly under the parliamentary system after the April Revolution; resigned after the May 16 coup
Kim Dae-jung1924 – 2009
participant · 15th President (1998–2003), the first transfer of power to the opposition by election. Steered recovery from the currency crisis and held the first inter-Korean summit; Nobel Peace Prize 2000
Park Chung-hee1917 – 1979
related figure · 5th–9th President (1963–1979). Led the May 16 coup, the five-year economic plans and the Yushin system; killed in the October 26 incident
Jang Jun-ha1918 – 1975
leader · Former Korean Liberation Army soldier who published the magazine Sasanggye and led the 1973 campaign for a million signatures petitioning for constitutional revision
Ham Seok-heon1901 – 1989
participant · Thinker and democracy activist who wrote Korean History from the Standpoint of Meaning, published the magazine The Voice of the Ssial and joined the 1976 March First Democratic Declaration
Mun Ik-hwan1918 – 1994
participant · Pastor and democracy activist who joined the 1976 March First Democratic Declaration and visited North Korea in 1989 in the cause of reunification

Before and after

Earlier: 1972 October Yushin
Later: 1979 YH Trading Incident