Coup Atlas Research Database
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73206011962ConspiracyMilitary coup

Republic of Korea, 1962 — military coup conspiracy

Republic of Korea (KOR)East Asia, AsiaJune 1, 1962

Event Summary

This entry is coded 1 June 1962, during the military junta period that followed the 16 May 1961 coup by Park Chung Hee. Power was held by the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, which ruled by decree while President Yun Bo-seon served as a figurehead until his resignation on 24 March 1962, after which Park became acting president. The junta created the Korean Central Intelligence Agency under Kim Jong-pil on 19 June 1961 specifically to prevent counter coups and suppress potential enemies, and it conducted wide ranging purges of civilian institutions and the officer corps.

The nominal chairman General Chang Do-yong was arrested on 3 July 1961 on a charge of conspiracy to carry out a counter coup, and intra junta factional plotting continued through 1962 as Park consolidated control. The June 1962 coding sits inside this period of internal power struggle, KCIA suppression of rival officers, and preparation for the promised return to civilian rule.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Park Chung Hee consolidated power as acting president; rival officers were purged and Park went on to be elected president in 1963
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Park Chung Hee (junta chairman and acting president)
Kim Jong-pil (KCIA director, purger of rivals)
General Chang Do-yong (nominal chairman arrested for alleged counter-coup, July 1961)

Sources

The Korean Central Intelligence Agency was created on 19 June 1961 to prevent counter coups and suppress potential enemies, with authority to arrest anyone suspected of anti government sentiment.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Park Chung Hee open source ↗
After President Yun resigned on 24 March 1962, Park, remaining chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, consolidated power by becoming acting president.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Park Chung Hee open source ↗
On 3 July 1961 the nominal chairman General Chang Do-yong was arrested on a charge of conspiracy to carry out a counter coup, allowing Park to take the chairmanship.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: May 16 coup open source ↗
The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction ruled by decree from May 1961 to December 1963 and Park became de facto dictator after Chang's arrest.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Supreme Council for National Reconstruction open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot is precisely dated 1 Jun 1962 in the sources located this session; the coding captures the SCNR junta period of intra-junta counter-coup purges and KCIA suppression as Park consolidated power. Context with strong framing.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
73206011962

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Park Chung Hee consolidated power as acting president; rival officers were purged and Park went on to be elected president in 1963.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Luttwak

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Times of India

“Coup Bid In S. Korea,” June 2, 1962

New York Times

“Korea Seizes 41 in Plot on Junta,” June 1, 1962

New York Times

“South Korea Indicts 40 on Charge of Attempted Coup,” July 15, 1962

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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