South Korean army officer and diplomat (1925?2017)
Lee Dae-yong
(
Korean
:
이대용
;
Hanja
:
李大鎔
; 20 November 1925 ? 14 November 2017) was a
South Korean
army
officer and diplomat.
Early life
[
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Lee was born in
North Hwanghae Province
on 20 November 1925.
Military career
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During the
Korean War
, he served as an officer in the
6th Infantry Division
,
Republic of Korea Army
.
He served as a commander of the
1st Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment
in the
Battle of Chuncheon
.
[1]
Diplomat career
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In 1963, Lee was appointed as a
military attache
to the South Korean embassy in
South Vietnam
. In 1973, he was appointed as a
minister
in the South Korean embassy in
South Vietnam
(Originally, he belonged to the
Korean Central Intelligence Agency
)
[2]
During the
Fall of Saigon
, South Korean diplomats attempted to flee South Vietnam as part of
Operation Frequent Wind
. Lee and two South Korean diplomats (Ahn Hee-wan and Seo Byeong-ho) failed to escape.
[3]
They were arrested by the
People's Army of Vietnam
and held for questioning in
Chi Hoa Prison
in October 1975.
[4]
The
North Korean government
tried to take the prisoners, but the
South Korean government
negotiated with North Korea for their return to South Korea.
[5]
Following the
Sino-Vietnamese War
,
North Korea
supported China. This has soured relations between
Vietnam
and
North Korea
.
At that time, the
Israeli
businessman
Shaul Eisenberg
worked as a secret envoy for South Korea.
[6]
[7]
On 12 April 1980,
Vietnamese government
released Lee and the two other diplomats to South Korea.
[3]
After return
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]
In 2001, Lee met Vietnam's ambassador to South Korea 'D??ng Chinh Th?c', who was the official responsible for his arrest in 1975.
[8]
Awards and decorations
[
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]
Legacy
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In 1986, his story was turned into a
drama
(
ko:사이공 抑留機
) on
MBC
.
References
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]
External links
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]