In the continuing series of interviews that the Joong Ang Ilbo is publishing with former ROK Prime Minister, this next article describes how he first met former Korean strongman Park Chung-hee:
A 34-year-old Park Chung Hee, far right, a colonel serving as head of the Army intelligence school, poses for a photo with other officials at the military intelligence bureau in Daegu in late 1951. Park was reinstated in the Army in 1950. [JoongAng Photo]Looking back, there was nothing special in my first meeting with Park Chung Hee. But on the cusp of turning 90, when I recall my first encounter with him, it comes back to me vividly.
I began my military career as a commissioned officer assigned to the Army headquarters’ intelligence bureau after I graduated from the military academy in June 1949. I was assigned to a strategy intelligence unit with seven of my fellow graduates. We reported our appointment to Col. Paik Sun-yup, who was director of the intelligence bureau. He said there was one more person we need to report our appointment to in an operations room.
We did as told, reporting for duty to a man dressed in a black suit. The man had a small figure and looked tanned. He smiled shyly as he said in a humble manner, “Hello. I am Park Chung Hee. You don’t need to report for your duties. I am not that important here. Please take a seat.”
I shook hands and sat down. He told me he was stripped of his uniform because he got in trouble, without divulging any details. “I heard you guys graduated at the top of the class from the military academy. Welcome to the unit,” Park said.
Park was working as a civilian officer after his dismissal earlier that year. I had heard his name when I was in the military academy. He was a company commander overseeing military academy cadets. I had also heard that sometime in 1948 he was taken somewhere.
It was only later that I found out that he almost landed on death row for being a member of the outlawed communist Workers Party of South Korea tasked with recruiting party members. A military court spared his life in February 1949 by giving him a suspended jail term. Shortly after his release, he had no choice but to leave the Army. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more about Kim Jong-pil’s interactions with Park Chung-hee at the link such as this nugget that is was famed Korean general Paik Sun-yup that worked to get Park Chun-hee’s death sentenced revoked.
