Second Republic of Korea in the context of "First Republic of Korea"

The government of South Korea is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is the highest figure of executive authority in the country, followed by the prime minister and government ministers in decreasing order.

The Executive and Legislative branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels.The South Korean government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. This document has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948 (for details, see History of South Korea). However, it has retained many broad characteristics; with the exception of the short-lived Second Republic of South Korea, the country has always had a relatively independent chief executive in the form of a president.

Chang Myon (Korean: 장면; August 28, 1899 – June 4, 1966) was a South Korean statesman, educator, diplomat, journalist and social activist as well as a Roman Catholic youth activist. He was the only prime minister of the parliamentary Second Republic. In addition, during the First Republic he was the fourth and last vice president of South Korea. His art name was Unseok (운석). His English name was John Chang Myon (baptismal name, surname, given name, respectively).

Under Japanese rule, Chang worked in education as a school teacher, administrator, and principal. In 1948, he led the delegation of the Republic of Korea to the UN General Assembly. In 1949, he became the first ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States. In 1950, he successfully appealed to the United States and the UN to send troops to assist in the Korean War. On November 23, 1950, he was appointed the prime minister of the First Republic of Korea. From 1956 to 1960, he served as the vice president of the First Republic of Korea.

Yun Po-sun (Korean: 윤보선, pronounced [junbosʌn] or [jun] [posʌn]; August 26, 1897 – July 18, 1990) was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the second president of South Korea from 1960 to 1962. He was the only president of the short-lived Second Republic of Korea, and served as little more than a figurehead due to its nature as a parliamentary system.

Park Chung Hee (Korean: 박정희; [pak̚.tɕ͈ʌŋ.çi] ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until his assassination in 1979. His regime oversaw a period of intense economic growth and transformation, making Park one of the most consequential leaders in Korean history, although his legacy as a military dictator remains a bitter subject.

Before his presidency, Park was the second-highest-ranking officer in the South Korean army. His coup brought an end to the interim Second Republic of Korea. After serving for two years as chairman of the military junta, he was elected president in 1963, ushering in the Third Republic. A firm anti-communist, he continued to maintain close ties with the United States, which had maintained a large Army garrison in the country since the end of the Korean War. He supported American military involvement in Southeast Asia, and sent South Korean troops to fight in Vietnam soon after seizing power. Park began a series of economic reforms that eventually led to rapid and unprecedented economic growth and industrialization, a phenomenon that is now known as the Miracle on the Han River. This made South Korea one of the fastest growing economies of the 1960s and 1970s, albeit with costs to labor rights. This era also saw the formation of chaebols: family companies supported by the state similar to the Japanese zaibatsu. Examples of significant chaebols include Hyundai, LG, and Samsung.

The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (Korean: 국가재건최고회의) 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.

The Third Republic of Korea (Korean: 제3공화국; RR: Je sam gonghwaguk; lit. "Third Republic") was the government of South Korea from 17 December 1963 to 21 November 1972. The Third Republic was founded on the dissolution of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction that overthrew the Second Republic and established a military government in May 1961. Park Chung Hee, the Chairman of the Supreme Council, was elected President of South Korea in the 1963 presidential election.

The Third Republic was presented as a return to civilian government under the National Assembly but in practice was a dictatorship under Park, Supreme Council members, and the Democratic Republican Party. The Third Republic prioritized South Korea's economic development, anti-communism, and strengthening ties with the United States and Japan.