1980 in South Korea

Events from the year 1980 in South Korea.

Incumbents

 * President: Choi Kyu-hah (until 16 August), Chun Doo-hwan (starting 1 September)
 * Prime Minister:
 * until 22 May: Shin Hyun-hwak
 * 22 May-2 September: Pak Choong-hoon
 * starting 2 September: Nam Duck-woo

Events

 * May 17 - Coup d'état of May Seventeenth: General Chun Doo-hwan forces the Cabinet to extend martial law to the whole nation.
 * May 18–27 - Gwangju massacre: Up to 165 people are killed when a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju is crushed by the South Korean army.
 * May 20 - Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo order the National Assembly of Korea to be dissolved, using troops to enforce the order.
 * July 8- Miss Universe 1980
 * August 27 - Chun Doo-hwan is elected President of South Korea by the "National Conference for Unification".

Films

 * Fine Windy Day
 * The Hidden Hero
 * Neumi
 * Painful Maturity
 * Son of Man
 * The Last Witness
 * A Taxi Driver

Births

 * 15 January - Sam Oh, TV host and radio DJ based in the Philippines
 * 13 February - Lee Sang-woo, actor
 * 22 February - Kang Sung-hoon, singer
 * 28 February - Bada, singer-songwriter, actress and TV host
 * 4 March - Jeong Da-bin, actress (d. 2007)
 * 13 March - Kim Nam-gil, actor, film producer, director, singer
 * 20 March - Ock Joo-hyun, singer and actress
 * 21 March - Lee Jin, singer and actress
 * 29 March - Kim Tae-hee, actress
 * 4 April - Gong Hyo-jin, actress
 * 5 April - Lee Jae-won, DJ and singer
 * 9 April - Lee Yo-won, actress
 * 4 May
 * Park Jong-Jin, footballer
 * Jang Geum-young, sport shooter
 * 7 May - Kim Nam-soon, archer
 * 8 July - Yang Tae-Young, gymnast
 * 19 August - Jun Jin, singer and actor
 * 16 November - Lee Eun-ju, actress
 * 7 December - Choi Jung-in, singer
 * 19 December - Verbal Jint, musician, rapper and record producer
 * 26 December - Jo Jung-seok, actor

Deaths

 * May 24 - Kim Jae-gyu, South Korean Army Lieutenant General, director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, and assassin of President Park Chung-hee (born 1926; executed by hanging)