The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction () was the ruling military junta of South Korea from May 1961 to December 1963. The Supreme Council overthrew the Second Republic of Korea in the May 16 coup in May 1961 and established a provisional military government composing largely of officers who were involved in or supportive of the coup. The Supreme Council was headed by the Chairman, the de facto head of government with dictatorial powers, while President Yun Posun was retained as a figurehead. The Supreme Council prioritized South Korea's economic development and political stability, suspending the National Assembly and most political freedoms, and founding the Korean Central Intelligence Agency to combat pro-North Korean and other anti-government activity. Park Chung-hee served as Chairman of the Supreme Council from July 1961 until his victory in the 1963 South Korean presidential election, and the Supreme Council was dissolved upon the inauguration of the Third Republic of Korea in December 1963. History Background The First Republic of Korea was established on 15 August 1948 following the transfer of power from the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) to the Government of South Korea, becoming the first independent government of South Korea. The First Republic had a highly-centralized government under President Syngman Rhee, who maintained autocratic power as the President of South Korea, and was widely viewed as authoritarian and corrupt. Rhee's government was characterized by widespread cronyism, intimidation and indifference to South Korea's economic development. Until the late 1950s, Rhee's unpopularity and corruption was largely tolerated by the South Korea public for the sake of political unity, and as a staunch anti-communist, had crushed open opposition to his regime using the threat of communism as an excuse. In April 1960, Rhee was eventually overthrown in mass protests known as the April Revolution, started in response to the murder of a student killed by police during earlier protests against election rigging. Rhee's former political opponents in the Democratic Party established the Second Republic of Korea, with new parliamentary system of government, and dominated the National Assembly following elections. The Second Republic was led by Chang Myon as Prime Minister of South Korea, a position which held most of the power, and was headed by Yun Bo-seon as President, now a largely ceremonial role. The new government attempted to fix the issues left behind by Rhee, but proved to be ineffective, and caused the