Today in history On August 15, 1974 – Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President Park Chung Hee.

On August 15, 1974, South Korea was marking its National Liberation Day when tragedy struck. Yuk Young-soo, the country’s beloved First Lady and wife of President Park Chung Hee, was attending a ceremony at the National Theater in Seoul when a Japanese-born Korean, Mun Se-gwang, attempted to assassinate the president.

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Mun, a member of a pro-North Korean organization, smuggled a pistol into the event and opened fire toward Park. His intended target survived, but one of the bullets struck Yuk Young-soo in the head. Despite being rushed to the hospital, she succumbed to her injuries later that day, sending shockwaves through the nation.

Yuk Young-soo was admired for her grace, charitable work, and efforts to improve welfare for women and children, which made her death even more devastating to the public. The assassination attempt also claimed the life of a high school student who was caught in the chaos. Mun Se-gwang was quickly apprehended and later executed. 

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The incident deepened tensions between South Korea and North Korea, as well as between Seoul and Tokyo, due to Mun’s background. It also hardened President Park’s authoritarian resolve, with his regime using the tragedy to justify even tighter security measures and political crackdowns in the years that followed.