Only the naive could have expected a smooth transition to democracy in South Korea following President Park Chung Hee’s assassination on October 26. For they alone could have believed that the semi-dictatorial set-up was the handiwork of just that one individual, that he kept it going on the strength of his personality and that it had no support among the army and other security organisations, including the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. More prudent observers of the scene anticipated a period of confusion and struggle. Apparently they have proved right. General Chung Seung Hwa, who took over as the chief martial law administrator in the wake of President Park’s murder, some other generals, and a number of high-ranking officers have been arrested and the triumphant group of generals has persuaded or forced the acting President Choi Kyu Hah to appoint three of their nominees as ministers of defence, justice and home affairs.
The generals now in command have alleged that the arrested officers were involved in the conspiracy to assassinate the former president. This may well be so. General Chung was present in a nearby building when the then KCIA chief, Mr. Kim Jae Kyu, shot Mr. Park dead and he was there on the invitation of Mr. Kim. This piece of circumstantial evidence does not quite clinch the issue. But it has raised doubts regarding General Chung from the day of the murder. On the face of it, Mr Kim would not have requested the general to be around on the palace grounds and the latter would not have obliged him unless there was some kind of understanding between the two. The General’s subsequent action in rejecting Mr. Kim’s proposal for setting up a revolutionary council and in arresting the latter cannot settle the doubt that he was privy to the conspiracy. But, what about the other generals and senior officers who have been arrested? In the absence of details it is not possible to make a firm assessment.
In the circumstances it is not easy to accept at its face value the speculation that while the arrested officers favoured liberalization of the regime, the generals now in the ascendant are determined to keep a fairly tight grip on the administration. The reality may be much more complicated. This possibility is reinforced by reports that the victorious group is not opposed to revision of the constitution to provide for direct election of the president on the basis of adult franchise – under the existing fundamental law of the land he is elected by an electoral college which can easily be manipulated – and the fact that Mr. Choi has been allowed to name persons of his choice as premier and vice-premier and ministers in charge of economic portfolios. But such reports are speculative and cannot serve as the basis of a fair understanding of what is happening in the country. All that can be said right now is that a new military junta has arisen in Seoul and that it proposes to influence the course of developments in South Korea.
The Times of India, 21 December 1979