Yun Posun in the context of "April Revolution"

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⭐ Core Definition: Yun Posun

Yun Po-sun (Korean윤보선, 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.

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👉 Yun Posun in the context of April Revolution

The April Revolution (Korean: 4.19 혁명), also called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, were mass protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and the First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960, which led to Rhee's resignation.

Protests opposing Rhee were started by student and labor groups in the southeastern port city of Masan on April 11. The protests were triggered by the discovery of the body of a local high school student killed by police during demonstrations against rigged elections in March. Popular discontent had arisen due to Rhee's autocratic rule, corruption, use of violence against political opposition, and uneven development of South Korea. The Masan discovery led to large student protests in Seoul, which were violently suppressed; a total of 186 people were killed during the two weeks of protest. Rhee resigned on April 26 before fleeing to exile in the United States, and was replaced by Yun Posun, beginning the transition to the Second Republic of South Korea.

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Yun Posun in the context of Second Republic of Korea

The Second Republic of Korea (Korean제2공화국; RRJe-i Gonghwaguk; lit. "Second Republic") was the government of South Korea from June 1960 to May 1961.

The Second Republic was founded months after the April Revolution mass protests against President Syngman Rhee, succeeding the First Republic and establishing a parliamentary government under President Yun Posun and Prime Minister Chang Myon. The Second Republic ended Rhee's authoritarianism and repression, formed a liberal democracy, and formulated the first Five-Year Plans to develop the formerly neglected economy. After thirteen months it was overthrown by the South Korean Army in the May 16 coup led by Park Chung Hee. The Second Republic was replaced by a provisional military government under the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, leading to the Third Republic of Korea.

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Yun Posun in the context of May 16 coup

The May 16 military coup d'état (Korean: 5·16 군사정변) or the May 16 Military Revolution (Korean: 5·16 군사혁명) was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung Hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong after the latter's acquiescence on the day of the coup. The coup rendered powerless the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Chang Myon and President Yun Posun, and ended the Second Republic, installing a reformist military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction effectively led by Park, who took over as chairman after Chang's arrest in July.

The coup was instrumental in bringing to power a new developmentalist elite and in laying the foundations for the rapid industrialization of South Korea under Park's leadership, but its legacy is controversial for the suppression of democracy and civil liberties it entailed, and the purges enacted in its wake. Termed the "May 16 Military Revolution" by Park and his allies, "a new, mature national debut of spirit", the coup's nature as a "revolution" is controversial and its evaluation contested.

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Yun Posun in the context of Supreme Council for National Reconstruction

The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (Korean국가재건최고회의) 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.

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