both the public and rival politicians. The 1971 presidential election showed that the New Democratic Party achieved significant electoral gains against the Democratic Republican Party, rising from 32.7% of the vote in 1968 to 44.4%. Public dissatisfaction with Park's authoritarian rule increased as the rapid economic growth of the 1960s began to slow down. Additionally, Park became anxious about changes in Cold War politics, especially the United States' policy towards communism under President Richard Nixon's Guam Doctrine. The legitimacy of Park's government depended on staunch anti-communism, and any moderation of that policy from South Korea's allies threatened the very basis of his rule. In December 1971, Park declared a state of emergency "based on the dangerous realities of the international situation". Establishment On 10 October 1972, Park Chung-hee launched a self-coup known as the October Restoration, dissolving the National Assembly, suspending the 1963 constitution, declaring martial law across the country, and commissioning work on a brand new constitution. Park had drawn inspiration for his self-coup from Ferdinand Marcos, the President of the Philippines, who had orchestrated a similar coup a few weeks earlier. Yushin Constitution The Fourth Republic was governed under the Yu-shin Constitution, also spelled Yushin (Hangul: 유신 / Hanja: 維新) which in Korean means "rejuvenation" or "renewal". Yushin has the same Chinese root of "restoration" as a component of the Japanese 明治維新, Meiji-ishin, meaning Meiji Restoration, the event which brought Japan under the effective rule of the Emperor of Japan and began the country's rise into a world power in the late 19th century. The significance of the term Yushin was the allusion to the "imperial" role which scholars have seen attached to the presidency under the Yusin Constitution, which effectively concentrated all governing power in Park's hands. The Yushin Constitution was a severely authoritarian document, marked by the sweeping executive and legislative powers granted to the president. His term was extended to six years, with no limits on re-election. The president was indirectly elected through the National Conference for Unification, an electoral college whose delegates were elected by the public. The requirements for presidential candidacy, however, were so stringent that only one candidate could be on the conference's ballot. He was vested with broad powers to suspend constitutional freedoms and rule by decree. Only one concession was given to the National Assembly, the ability to remove the State Council by a vote of no confidence; but even