President Shot During Speech; Stray Bullet Kills First Lady
South Korean President Park Chung-hee was delivering a speech when a man suddenly opened fire on him. While the President survived, a stray bullet struck the head of his wife, First Lady Yuk Young-soo, leading to her death.
The bloody tragedy occurred on 15 August 1974, at the National Theater in Seoul. At the time, South Korea was celebrating its 29th Independence Day. Park Chung-hee was standing on stage, delivering a speech before an audience of approximately 1,000 people.
According to the Korean Herald, in the midst of the speech, a man named Mun Se-gwang suddenly produced a pistol and fired shots.
Mun was actually aiming for Park. However, the shots missed the President, with one bullet instead hitting Yuk Young-soo, who was seated in the VIP area.
Yuk sustained severe head injuries and was immediately rushed to Seoul National University Hospital for medical attention. Doctors performed surgery for several hours in an attempt to save her life, but her injuries were too grave. She was pronounced dead at 19:00 local time. She was 48 years old at the time.
The incident also claimed the life of a student, Jang Bong-hwa, who was present at the scene. Mun was successfully apprehended following the shooting.
The death of Yuk was a massive blow to Park Chung-hee. She had served as the First Lady of South Korea for approximately 11 years and was known for her active involvement in various social activities.
Four days after the shooting, Yuk was buried in a state funeral on 19 August 1974. According to reports from the Korean Times, the tragedy did not end with the death of the First Lady; the shooting subsequently evolved into a significant political and diplomatic issue.
The South Korean government stated that Mun had links to pro-North Korean organisations and linked his actions to North Korea. Mun was subsequently sentenced to death and executed on 20 December 1974.
Tragically, the South Korean presidential security detail failed again five years later. On 26 October 1979, President Park Chung-hee himself met his end. He was shot directly in his office by the Director of the KCIA (Korean Central Intelligence Agency), who brought a pistol to the meeting with the President.