Choe Deok-sin
최덕신
Malaysian Minister for Agriculture Malaya Khir Johari and the foreign minister of South Korea Choe Dok-sin sign the first ever trade agreement between those two countries in Seoul
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea
In office
11 October 1961  15 March 1963
PresidentPark Chung Hee
Preceded bySong Yo-chan
Succeeded byKim Yong-shik
Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland
In office
??–1989
PresidentKim Il-Sung
Personal details
Born(1914-09-17)17 September 1914
Uiju County, North Pyongan Province, Empire of Japan
Died14 November 1989(1989-11-14) (aged 75)
Pyongyang, North Korea
SpouseRyu Mi-yong

Choe Deok-sin
Chosŏn'gŭl
Hancha
Revised RomanizationChoe Deok-sin
McCune–ReischauerCh'oe Tŏksin

Choe Deok-sin (September 17, 1914 – November 14, 1989) was a South Korean Foreign Minister who later defected with his wife, Ryu Mi-yong, to North Korea.[1]

Choe was born in Uiju County, North Pyongan Province. In 1936, he graduated from the Republic of China Military Academy, and served as a Republic of China Army officer.[2] When World War II ended, Choe was promoted to colonel.[2] After the war Choe returned to South Korea and entered the national army academy as a second lieutenant.[2] In 1949, Choe entered the United States Military Academy.[2] On July 14, 1950, Choe returned to South Korea.[2] Choe served as a commanding general of the South Korean 11th Division under the United States IX Corps during the Korean War.[2][3] His division carried out the Sancheong-Hamyang and Geochang massacres. After the military coup, from 1961 to 1963, Choe served as a Foreign Minister and Ambassador to West Germany.[1]

In 1986, Choe relocated with his wife Ryu Mi-yong to North Korea from their exile in the United States, where they had been known for their opposition to the policies of the South Korean military government.[4] Choe served as a chief of the central committee of the Chondogyo religious movement and vice-chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.[1][4] Choe's son, Choe In-guk, reportedly defected to North Korea in July 2019.[5][6]

Bibliography

  • Choe Deok-sin (1972). Panmunjom and After. New York: Vantage Press. OCLC 754916.
  • (1987). The Nation and I: For the Reunification of the Motherland. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC 17933376.
  • (1989). My Thirty Years in South Korea: Amid the Tragedy of National Division. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC 21567991.
  • (1990). In the Embrace of My Motherland. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC 27117555.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Choi Duk Shin, 75, Ex-South Korean Envoy". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 19, 1989. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 최동오와 아들 최덕신 고단한 민족사 넘나들다 애국렬사릉에 나란히 묻히다. Minjog21 (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  3. 산청 시천면 양민학살, 어떤 사건인가? 아녀자, 어린이 대부분...알려진 산청 함양사건과는 별개 출처 : 산청 시천면 양민학살, 어떤 사건인가? - 오마이뉴스. Ohmynews (in Korean). May 16, 2000. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Article: Ryu Mi-yong -- Representitive [sic] of Chongdogyo in North Korean". Korea Times. HighBeam. August 16, 2000. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  5. Shim, Elizabeth (July 7, 2019). "South Korean man defects to North Korea, Pyongyang says". UPI. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Uriminzokkiri said Sunday Choe In-guk, the second son of former South Korean Foreign Minister Choe Tok-sin, arrived in North Korea on Saturday for "permanent residence."
  6. "South Korean 'defects' to North Korea". BBC News. July 8, 2019.
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