One of Carter 's first acts was to order the withdrawal of troops from South Korea , which had hosted a large number of U.S. military personnel since the end of the Korean War . Carter believed that the soldiers could be put to better use in Western Europe , but opponents of the withdrawal feared that North Korea would invade South Korea in the aftermath of the withdrawal . South Korea and Japan both protested the move , as did many members of Congress , the military , and the State Department . After a strong backlash , Carter delayed the withdrawal , and ultimately only a fraction of the U.S. forces left South Korea . Carter 's attempt to remove U.S. forces from South Korea weakened the government of South Korean President Park Chung-hee , who was assassinated in 1979
assassinated
Assassination of Park Chung-hee
Foreign policy of the Jimmy Carter administration