Volta
Politics26 October 1979

October 26 Incident

KCIA director Kim Jae-gyu shot and killed President Park Chung-hee, bringing down the Yushin system.

Kim Jae-gyu, who shot President Park, as Defense Security Commander in 1968
Kim Jae-gyu, who shot President Park, as Defense Security Commander in 1968

​中央通訊社 · Public domain · Source

On 26 October 1979, at a KCIA safe house in Gungjeong-dong, Seoul, KCIA director Kim Jae-gyu shot and killed President Park Chung-hee and his chief bodyguard. There had been conflict within the regime over how to deal with the Busan–Masan protests.

The Yushin system collapsed. Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah became acting president and was elected president by the National Conference for Unification in December.

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States and rulers at the time

People

  • Kim Jae-gyu1926 – 1980

    leader · Director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency who shot President Park Chung-hee on 26 October 1979; executed in 1980

  • 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

  • Choi Kyu-hah1919 – 2006

    related figure · 10th President (1979–1980). Acting president after 26 October 1979, then elected by the National Conference for Unification; resigned in August 1980

Before and after

Earlier
1979 Busan–Masan Democratic Protests
Later
1979 December 12 Incident

Related works

  • Film: The Man Standing NextDramatizedFilm · 2020 · Woo Min-ho
  • Documentary: Now It Can Be Told Episode 78: October 1979 — Why Did Kim Jae-gyu Shoot?Documentary · 2004 · Jang Hyeong-won · MBC

Dramatized works (films, dramas, novels) may differ from the historical record.