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| Coup d'état of December Twelfth | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mutinied forces securing the perimeter ofGyeongbokgung Palace | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
Shingunbu
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Chun Doo-hwan Roh Tae-woo | Choi Kyu-hah Jeong Seung-hwa Jang Tae-wan Jung Byeong-joo [ko] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 11 killed, 15 wounded, 1 Truck destroyed | 5 killed, 5 wounded | ||||||
Thecoup d'état of December Twelfth or the12·12 Military Insurrection (Korean: 12·12 군사 반란;Hanja: 十二十二軍事反亂) was amutiny which took place on December 12, 1979, inSouth Korea, where a secret society of military officers known asHanahoe led by Major GeneralChun Doo-hwan mutinied against theChief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army GeneralJeong Seung-hwa.[1][2] The coup led to Chun strengthening his military and political position in South Korea, leading to his outright seizure of power as president in 1980.
Theassassination of the 3rd President of South Korea,Park Chung Hee, on 26 October 1979 had thrown South Korea into a state of political turmoil. Prime MinisterChoi Kyu-hah immediately became acting President and declared a state of martial law throughout the nation exceptJeju Province. He appointed Chief of Staff of the Army GeneralJeong Seung-hwa to oversee the martial law operation.[3] Jeong appointed Major GeneralChun Doo-hwan, commander of theDefence Security Command to investigate Park's assassination. Jeong, Chun andChairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffKim Jong-hwan were then the most powerful figures in the military.[4]
According to official investigations, President Park's assassin and director of KCIAKim Jae-gyu had approached Jeong, who was present at the scene of the assassination (though not a witness) to take command of the situation after Park's assassination, but Jeong refused.[5][6]
Chun, who harbored political ambitions, was a rival to Jeong, given that theMilitary Security Command served as a hedge against any potential military coup under President Park.[7] Jeong moved to reassign Chun, Roh Tae-woo, and other members of Hanahoe to less important posts to sideline them and prevent Hanahoe’s rise. Fearing their careers were at stake, Chun and the rest of Hanahoe moved before Jeong could completely sideline them.
On the evening of 12 December 1979, Chun,[8] acting without authorization from President Choi, ordered the arrest of Jeong on allegations of involvement in the assassination of former President Park.Minister of National DefenseRoh Jae-hyun fled from his position and brought his entire family to theYongsan Garrison to seek protection in theU.S. embassy before being advised to go back to duty. After reluctantly returning to the army command, he refused to order the arrest of Chun or other rebel generals. Instead, he ordered the arrest of Jeong to appease the rebels. Shortly thereafter, he resigned from politics.[9][10]
After Jeong's capture, the 29th Regiment of the9th Division, along with the1st and 3rd Special Forces Brigades, invadeddowntown Seoul to support the 30th and 33rd Capital Security Groups, which were loyal to Chun, resulting in a series of conflicts that broke out in the capital. Two of Jeong's allies, Major GeneralJang Tae-wan[11] (Commander of Army Capital Security Command) and Major General Jeong Byeong-ju (Commander ofArmy Special Warfare Command), were also arrested by the rebel troops. Major Kim Oh-rang,aide-de-camp of Jeong Byeong-ju, was killed during the gunfight.[12]
By the next morning, theMinistry of Defense and Army Headquarters were occupied by the mutineers. Chun and his fellow graduates of the 11th class of theKorea Military Academy, such as Major GeneralRoh Tae-woo, commanding general of the 9th Infantry Division, and Major GeneralJeong Ho-yong, were in charge of the Korean ground forces.[13] Chun's mutiny and the subsequent consolidation of power was assisted by the powerful private club of military officials known asHanahoe.[14] TheNavy andAir Force did not participate in the mutiny, but Chun subsequently co-opted them following its success. In addition, the onlyMarine Corps involvement in the coup was by Jeong's residential guards, who engaged in armed confrontation with the 33rd MP. Chun became thede factocommander-in-chief, rather than President Choi Kyu-hah.
Jeong Seung-hua was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a court-martial on March 13, 1980,[15] while Jang Tae-wan and Jeong Byeong-ju were forcibly discharged from military service and placed under house arrest.[16] In January 1980, the South Korean military underwent a massive reorganization. Since then, any generals who had made critical remarks about the mutiny, either in public or in private, were either forced to leave their posts or were transferred to other positions.[17]
The mutiny marked the beginning of the end of theFourth Republic of Korea. The mutiny, thecoup d'etat of the civilian government on 17 May 1980, alongside theGwangju Uprising,[18] was the primary justification for Chun's 1995 arrest by theKim Young-sam administration.
In 2022, a presidential commission on military deaths reclassified Kim Oh-rang's death during the coup as having been "killed in action" rather than having "died on duty". The redesignation meant that Kim's death was officially attributed to engagement with the enemy or while preventing disturbances to public peace, such as a rebellion. In 2025, the Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to provide 300 million won (US$216,000) in compensation to the Kim's relatives following a lawsuit filed by his family.[19]
