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Choe Deok-sin

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Choe Deok-sin
최덕신
Choe Deok-sin signing a trade agreement with Malaysia in 1962
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea
In office
October 11, 1961 – March 15, 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)September 17, 1914
Uiju County, Heianhoku Province, Empire of Japan
DiedNovember 14, 1989(1989-11-14) (aged 75)
Pyongyang, North Korea
SpouseRyu Mi-yong
Korean name
Hangul
최덕신
Hanja
崔德新
RRChoe Deoksin
MRCh'oe Tŏksin

Choe Deok-sin (Korean: 최덕신; 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] By the end of World War II, Choe had been 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][unreliable source?] 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] He stepped down from government office after being dismissed from his ambassadorship in 1967.[4]

He immigrated with his wife Ryu Mi-yong to the United States in 1976, where they had been known for their opposition to the policies of the South Korean military government. In 1986, Choe and his wife relocated to North Korea from the United States.[5] Choe served as a chief of the central committee of the Chondoist Chongu Party and vice-chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.[1][5] Three years later, in 1989, Choe died at the age of 75. Choe's son, Choe In-guk, reportedly defected to North Korea in July 2019.[6][7]

Bibliography

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  • 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

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References

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  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?. Ohmynews (in Korean). May 16, 2000. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  4. ↑ "최덕신대사사표 한국에전문으로". Maeil Business Newspaper. July 15, 1967.
  5. 1 2 "Article: Ryu Mi-yong -- Representative of Chongdogyo in North Korean". The Korea Times. HighBeam. August 16, 2000. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  6. ↑ 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."
  7. ↑ "South Korean 'defects' to North Korea". BBC News. July 8, 2019.
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