Park Chung-hee (Korean: [paktɕ͈ʌŋhi] 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean president, dictator and military general who led South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979. Park seized power through the May 16 coup, a military coup d'état that overthrew the Second Republic of South Korea in 1961 and ruled as a military strongman at the head of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction until his election and inauguration as the President of the Third Republic of South Korea in 1963. In 1972, Park declared martial law and recast the constitution into a highly authoritarian document, ushering in the Fourth Republic of South Korea. After surviving several assassination attempts, including two operations associated with North Korea, Park was eventually assassinated on 26 October 1979 by Kim Jae-gyu, the chief of his own security services. He had led South Korea for 18 years.