Editing History of South Korea (section)

===Military rule (1961–1963)===
[[File:5.16 Coup Park Chung-hee.jpg|thumb|Major General [[Park Chung Hee]] (center) during the [[May 16 coup]]]]
{{Main|Supreme Council for National Reconstruction}}
The [[May 16 coup]], led by Major General [[Park Chung Hee]] on 16 May 1961, put an effective end to the Second Republic. Park was one of a group of military leaders who had been pushing for the de-politicization of the military. Dissatisfied with the cleanup measures undertaken by the Second Republic and convinced that the current disoriented state would collapse into communism, they chose to take matters into their own hands.<ref name="lhh 593">Lee Hyun-hee (2005, pp 593–595)</ref><ref name="aks 192">The Academy of Korean Studies (2005, pp192-193)</ref><ref name="516 doosan">{{in lang|ko}} [https://archive.today/20130129142005/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=115821 5.16 coup d'état] at [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]</ref>

The National Assembly was dissolved and military officers replaced the civilian officials. In May 1961, the [[military junta|junta]] declared "Pledges of the Revolution": [[anticommunism]]; strengthened relations with the United States; an end to government corruption termed "fresh and clean morality"; a self-reliant economy; working towards reunification; and a return to democratic civilian government within two years.<ref name="lhh 593"/><ref name="aks 192"/><ref name="516 doosan"/><ref name="pch sk">[http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/13.htm Park Chung-Hee], South Korea: A Country Study</ref>

As a means to check the opposition, the military authority created the [[National Intelligence Service (South Korea)|Korean Central Intelligence Agency]] (KCIA) in June 1961, with [[Kim Jong-pil]], a relative of Park, as its first director.<ref name="aks 192"/><ref name="pch sk"/><ref>{{in lang|ko}} [https://archive.today/20120715222231/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=21698 KCIA] at [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]</ref> In December 1962, a referendum was held on returning to a presidential system of rule, which was allegedly passed with a 78% majority.<ref name="Yonhap 2004, p. 271">Yonhap (2004, p.&nbsp;271).</ref>  Park and the other military leaders pledged not to run for office in the next elections. However, Park became presidential candidate of the new [[Democratic Republican Party (South Korea)|Democratic Republican Party]] (DRP), which consisted of mainly KCIA officials, ran for president and won the [[1963 South Korean presidential election|election of 1963]] by a narrow margin.<ref name="lhh 593"/><ref name="516 doosan"/><ref name="pch sk"/><ref name="Yonhap 2004, p. 271"/>