Chun Doo-hwan

Chun Doo-hwan (born 18 January, 1931) was a Korean military officer and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. He established an authoritarian constitution. Sentenced to death in 1996, Chun was later given pardon by President Kim Dae Jung whom he himself sentenced to death some 20 years earlier.

An embattled ex-President

After he stepped down, under the freer political atmosphere, much public scrutiny fell upon the faults of Chun's regime, including the massive corruption involving his family. On November 23, 1988, the embattled Chun chose to go into the Baekdamsa Buddhist temple as a symbolic gesture of repentance for the excesses of his regime. He spent two years in Baekdamsa.

Related Topics:
November 23 - 1988 - Baekdamsa - Buddhist

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In 1996, former presidents Chun and Roh were jailed on charges of corruption. On 16 December, they were also convicted of treason and mutiny connected with their takeover of power. Chun was initially sentenced to death, which was later commuted to a life sentence. He and Roh were pardoned a year later in a move of conciliation initiated by President-elect Kim Dae Jung.

Related Topics:
1996 - 16 December

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