possible. On December 2, 1962, a referendum was held on returning to a presidential system of rule, which was allegedly passed with a 78% majority. In response, Park eventually abdicated from his military position to be eligible to run as a civilian in the upcoming presidential election, despite the fact that he and the other military leaders had pledged not to run for office. Park narrowly won in the presidential election of October 1963, and replaced Yun Posun as the President of Korea. The Supreme Council was officially dissolved upon the inauguration of the Third Republic of Korea on 17 December 1963, ending the three-year constitutional vacuum. Economy The Supreme Council prioritized the economic development of South Korea and was the first South Korean government to introduce economic planning, with the first South Korean five-year plan inaugurated in 1962. Although the Second Republic had laid the groundwork for such economic plans, it had not been able to put them into practice due to the May 16 coup. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade enacted policies to encourage and promote export. Currency reform reduced the exchange rate of the South Korean won to US dollar, mainly to prevent money laundering by fraudsters who hid large amounts of money and to weaken the economic influence of Overseas Chinese investors on the South Korean economy. In late 1963, the Supreme Council began the program with the government of West Germany to recruit South Korean nurses and miners as Gastarbeiter. The costs of the nurses and miners sent to West Germany were largely paid for by the South Korean government, with only their wages and some language services paid for by their employers in West Germany. The Gastarbeiter South Koreans have since been argued as a major cause of South Korea's rapid economic growth in the late 20th century. Diplomacy South Korean-United States relations were damaged by Park's coup and his military administration was met with instant disapproval from the United States. Park himself had suffered from suspicions of being a communist both at home and abroad due to his political history. Park had previously been sentenced to death in November 1948 after being arrested on charges that he led a communist cell in the Korean constabulary, but his sentence was commuted by several high-ranking military officers. Park had been a member of the Workers' Party of South Korea, the communist party responsible