In response to orogenic cycles, the ductile shear zone records a complex crustal deformation history. In this study, we conducted a microstructural analysis of two NW–SE trending ductile shear zones (Deokjeok Shear Zone (DSZ) and Soya Shear Zone (SSZ)) in the Late Triassic post-collisional granites along the western Gyeonggi Massif in the Korean Peninsula. The DSZ, overlain by the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic post-collisional basin fill (Deokjeok Formation), has asymmetric microstructures indicative of a top-down-to-the-northeast shear. Depending on the structural position, the SSZ, which structurally overlies the Deokjeok Formation, exhibits two contrasting styles of deformation. The lower portion of the SSZ preserves evidence of top-up-to-the-southwest shearing after top-down-to-the-northeast shearing; on the other hand, the upper portion only indicates a top-up movement. Given the primary deformation mechanisms of both quartz and feldspar, the deformation temperatures of DSZ and SSZ were estimated at ~300–350 °C and ~350–400 °C, respectively, indicative of the mid-crustal condition. New zircon U-Pb isotopic ages from mylonitic granite in the SSZ and volcanic rocks in the Deokjeok Formation, combined with previously published geochronological data, indicate that the post-collisional granites and volcano-sedimentary sequence were nearly contemporaneous (ca. 223–217 Ma) and juxtaposed because of the Late Triassic orogenic collapse and subsequent new orogenic event. In this study, we highlight the role of the extensional DSZ as a detachment propagated into the middle crust during the Late Triassic orogenic collapse. Our results report a deformational response to a transition from the collisional Songrim Orogeny to the subduction-related Daebo Orogeny in the western Gyeonggi Massif. This, in turn, provides essential insight into cyclic mountain building/collapse in the East Asian continental margin during the Mesozoic time.

The Chungnam basin is a crucial area for studying the Mesozoic crustal evolutionary history of the Korean Peninsula. This study reports the revised geology and new isotopic ages from the northeastern Chungnam Basin based on detailed geological mapping and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb analysis. Our renewed geologic map defines intra-basin, basin-bounding, and basement fault systems closely related to hydrothermal gold-bearing quartz vein injections. Here, we propose the directions of (micro)structural and geochronological future work to address issues on the relationship between the tectonic process, basin evolution, and hydrothermal fluid migration in the southwestern Korean Peninsula.