General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.

Chun Doo-hwan was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the country's de facto leader from 1979 to 1980.

The Coup d'état of May Seventeenth was a military coup d'état staged by General Chun Doo-hwan on 17 May 1980 against the civilian government of President Choi Kyu-hah in South Korea.

Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties may be suspended for as long as martial law continues. Most often, martial law is declared in times of war or emergencies such as civil unrest and natural disasters. Alternatively, martial law may be declared in instances of military coups d'état.