Choi Kyu-hah

Choi Kyu-hah was a South Korean politician who served as the fourth president of South Korea from 1979 to 1980. He was born into a yangban (upper class) family in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in Japanese-occupied Korea. He studied English language and literature at Tokyo Higher Normal School and Taidō Academy in Japan and Manchuria. He worked as a teacher and professor before entering politics. He served as ambassador to Malaysia, foreign minister, and prime minister under President Park Chung Hee. After Park was assassinated in 1979, Choi became acting president and was elected as the sole candidate for the remainder of Park's term. He promised democratic elections and a new constitution to replace the authoritarian Yushin Constitution. However, he faced opposition from the military, led by Major General Chun Doo-hwan, who staged a coup d'état in December 1979 and took control of the government. Choi was forced to appoint Chun as the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and later as the prime minister. In May 1980, Chun declared martial law and suppressed the pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, killing hundreds of civilians. Choi was powerless to stop Chun's actions and resigned in August 1980, after Chun was elected as the new president. Choi lived in retirement until his death in 2006 from heart failure. He was buried at the Daejeon National Cemetery.