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Premier Chang proved to be no fighter. After two days in hiding, he turned up at the State Council building to surrender to General Chang. Then he went before the press to announce that he and his Cabinet had resigned, appealed to the nation to stand behind the new military regime. After the Premier's resignation came that of President Yun himself, who, following Korea's tradition of repentance after defeat, declared: "I regret that I made so little contribution to the nation that a military revolution has occurred ... I feel nothing but sorrow." But next day, the generals talked him into staying on the job.
What Next? Now the military chiefs could get down to the task of running the country. Announcing a new, isman Cabinet of army, navy, air force and marine officers, General Chang became Premier and Defense Minister as well. The junta was opposed by no one; with utter apathy or unconcern, the Korean people watched in silence.
The generals were promising a return to civilian rule, but had begun with a crackdown that lumped all liberals with the Communists in a drive against what it called "antistate organizations." More than 3,500 suspects considered to be potential Communists or "leftist hoodlums" were under arrest, and warnings went out to left-wing student groups to keep quiet or else. The censored press was forbidden to use blank spaces or blacked-out splotches that would show that censorship was in effect. The generals and their aides were largely untrained in civil administration, would probably have to turn to the previous civil servants for help. A day after the coup, U.S. economic aid officials in Seoul were back in business, dealing with the same Korean bureaucrats as before.
State Department officials in Washington were somewhat embarrassed that the
Seoul embassy had backed the wrong horse by its abrupt support of the ousted Premier. But in Seoul, General Chang stood before reporters in his combat fatigues to shrug it all off. "There should be no trouble at all as far as U.S. -Korean relations are concerned," said Chang. "Our armed forces in the past have had closer relations with U.S. authorities than any other Korean agency. Therefore I believe the U.S. Government will support us more positively than ever before."