April Revolution — popular uprising in South Korea in April 1960 by labor and student groups, precipitated by the killing of a high school student by a tear-gas shell in March; led to the resignation of the president S. Rhee and the transition to the Second Republic
The April Revolution ended Syngman Rhee's autocratic rule and established South Korea's Second Republic through mass protest.
Key Facts
- Protest duration
- April 11–26, 1960
- Total killed
- 186 people
- Rhee's resignation date
- April 26, 1960
- Trigger event location
- Masan, southeastern port city
- Successor president
- Yun Posun
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Popular discontent with President Syngman Rhee's autocratic rule, corruption, violence against political opposition, and rigged elections had been building in South Korea. The discovery on April 11, 1960, of the body of a Masan high school student killed by police during March protests against electoral fraud directly triggered the wider uprising.
Mass protests broke out in the southeastern city of Masan on April 11, 1960, and spread to Seoul, where large student demonstrations were violently suppressed by government forces. Over approximately two weeks, demonstrations against the First Republic resulted in 186 deaths as protesters confronted police and demanded an end to Rhee's government.
Facing overwhelming public pressure, Syngman Rhee resigned on April 26, 1960, and subsequently fled into exile in the United States. Yun Posun succeeded him, marking the end of South Korea's First Republic and the beginning of the more democratic Second Republic.
Political Outcome
President Syngman Rhee resigned and fled to exile in the United States; South Korea transitioned from the First Republic to the Second Republic under Yun Posun.
Syngman Rhee, autocratic president of South Korea's First Republic
Yun Posun, president of South Korea's Second Republic