After the assassination of the military dictator President Park Chung-hee in October 1979 , Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah was elected president in the December 1979 elections . However , General Chun Doo-hwan staged the Coup d'état of December Twelfth and effectively took control of the government , making President Choi a figurehead . However , on 16 August 1980 , following the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth , Chun removed Choi from office so he could become president himself
assassination
Assassination of Park Chung-hee
1980 South Korean presidential election