On 26 October 1979 , Park was assassinated in a safehouse inside the Blue House presidential complex by Kim Jae-gyu , the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency ( KCIA ) and the president 's security chief . Park , four of his bodyguards , and his chauffeur were killed by Kim and other KCIA agents for unknown reasons . The death of Park after 18-years of dictatorial rule caused immediate political turmoil in South Korea . Park was succeeded by Choi Kyu-hah , the Prime Minister since 1975 , assuming power as acting president but was almost immediately marginalized by competing factions in the military . After the declaration of martial law following Park 's death , General Jeong Seung-hwa acted as the government 's chief administrator and appointed Major General Chun Doo-hwan the same day to lead a Joint Investigation Headquarters . On 27 October , Chun unilaterally assumed control of the KCIA and the government intelligence apparatus . On 6 December , the National Council for Unification confirmed Choi Kyu-hah as President according to the framework of the Yusin Constitution , but six days later , Chun spearheaded the coup d'état of December Twelfth , forcibly arresting and detaining General Jeong . By this point Choi had lost any meaningful authority in government , and in early 1980 Chun installed himself as Director of the KCIA
Park was assassinated
Assassination of Park Chung-hee
Fourth Republic of Korea