June Democratic Struggle

The June Democratic Struggle (Korean: 6월 민주 항쟁), also known as the June Democracy Movement and the June Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to 29, 1987. The demonstrations forced the ruling government to hold direct presidential elections and institute other democratic reforms, which led to the establishment of the Sixth Republic, the present-day government of South Korea.

On June 10, the military regime of President Chun Doo-hwan announced its choice of Roh Tae-woo as the next president. The public designation of Chun's successor was seen as a final affront to a delayed and deferred process to revise the South Korean constitution to permit direct election of the president. Although pressure on the regime in the form of demonstrations by students and other groups had been building for some time, the announcement finally triggered massive and effective protests.

Unwilling to resort to violence before the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul (which garnered large worldwide attention), and believing that Roh could win competitive elections anyway given divisions within the opposition, Chun and Roh acceded to the key demands of direct presidential elections and restoration of civil liberties. Although Roh was duly elected as president that December with a bare plurality, the consolidation of a liberal democratic regime in South Korea was underway.