Chun In-bum (born September 6, 1958) is a retired

South Korean Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

Lieutenant general and authority on Korean politics and military relations.

Biography

Early life

Chun was born September 6, 1958 in the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n capital city of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

. He moved to the United States of America at the age of seven with his mother, who was serving as a South Korean diplomat, and spent four and a half years in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

before returning to Korea in 1969 to finish high school. He was accepted to the

Korea Military Academy Korea Military Academy (KMA) is the leading South Korean institution for the education and training of officer cadets for the Republic of Korea Army. Along with the Korea Army Academy (Yeongcheon), it produces the largest number of senior offic ...

(KMA) in 1977. There, he studied military history and was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1981 upon completion of his degree.

Later life and military service

Shortly after graduation, then-Lieutenant Chun was selected as an aide to Lieutenant General Lee Ki-baek, making him the youngest officer in the history of the army to be appointed aide to a three-star general. In October 1983, General Lee was nearly killed in a terrorist bombing in Rangoon and then-Lieutenant Chun was credited with saving Lee’s life in the aftermath of the attack. He was awarded the National Security Medal (Kwang-Bok) for his actions. Chun continued his career by serving in the

ROK/US Combined Forces Command ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) was established in 1978. South Korean forces remain independent unless during a time of war in which they will subordinate themselves to the command. It is commanded by a four-star U.S. general and its Deputy ...

(CFC) in 1988, the Korean Special Warfare Command (SWC) in 1990, and in the ROK Army Chief of Staff Office. From 1995 to 1997, he commanded a battalion in the 22nd ROK Infantry Division. After promotion to brigadier general he served in positions commanding 29th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division of the Republic of Korea Army and helped direct elections in Iraq in 2005. For his service in Iraq he received the Hwa-Rang Combat medal and became the first Korean officer since the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

to be awarded the U.S.

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. Later in 2005, he served as the Director of U.S. Affairs at the Korean Ministry of National Defense. In 2007, then Brigadier General Chun was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

in response to

2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan The 2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan began on 19 July 2007, when 23 South Korean missionaries were captured and held hostage by members of the Taliban while passing through Ghazni Province of Afghanistan. Two male hostages were ex ...

. He was promoted to major general in 2009, and to lieutenant general in November 2013. He was assigned to head the ROK Special Warfare Command, for which he received

U.S. Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

(USSOCOM) medal in 2016, becoming the first Korean to receive the honor. In 2015, Chun was promoted to deputy commander for the First ROK Army (FROKA) and became a Distinguished Fellow of New Westminster College.

Retirement and Current Activities

Chun retired from active duty in July 2016. After his retirement he briefly worked for Moon Jae-in’s presidential campaign before stepping down to conduct fellowships with Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies (CEAP) and the US-Korea Institute of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

in Washington, D.C.

Personal life

Chun is married to Shim Hwa-jin, former president of Sung-Shin Women’s University. The couple have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chun, In-bum Living people People from Seoul Republic of Korea Army personnel 1958 births