Jang Tae-wan (, 13 September 1931 – 26 July 2010) was an army general and politician of South Korea.
Military career
Jang was the commander of the Capital Garrison Command (now Capital Defense Command) during the
Coup d'état of December Twelfth. The
Hanahoe
Hanahoe () was an unofficial private group and secret society of Military of South Korea, military officers in South Korea headed by Chun Doo-hwan, who later became the President of South Korea, South Korean president during the Fifth Republic of ...
, the group of South Korean military officers who were the instigators of the coup d'état, tried to appease Jang. However, the staunch Jang rejected it. Instead, Jang cursed and swore at them strongly, "You god damn rebels! Do not move and stay there! I will drive a tank right now and blow your heads away!"(), and fought against the rebel troops. However he was defeated, being betrayed by his subordinates.
Jang was imprisoned under de facto house arrest and tortured for the next six months.
While his son, a student of Korea's Top Ranked
Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities.
The university's main c ...
, died in January 1982 under suspicious circumstances and was reputedly murdered by government agents; Jang's father starved himself to death.
In 1982, he served as the President of Korea Securities & Computer Corporation (
Koscom), and in 1994, he was elected as President of
Korean Veterans Association in a free election and led the veterans' association for six years.
Political career
He entered politics in March 2000 by joining the
Democratic Party, and in the same year, he served as a member of the
16th National Assembly for Proportional Representation constituency as a Standing Advisor and Party Affairs Committee member. Later, he served as a member of the ruling party's leadership, and in 2002, he served as a special adviser to presidential candidate
Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008.
Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
.
Jang Tae-Wan died of lung cancer on July 26, 2010 at the age of 78 and was buried with full honors in the Generals' section of
Daejeon National Cemetery
The Daejeon National Cemetery () is located in Hyeonchungwon-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea. It is South Korea's second national cemetery after the Seoul National Cemetery and is overseen by the Ministry of Patriots' and Veterans' Affai ...
. Many Korean people value him as a symbol of a ''true soldier'', who had stood against coup d´état.
In popular culture
The 2023 South Korean movie ''
12.12: The Day'' has a fictional commander modeled after him named Lee Tae-shin, who fights against the coup attempt in 1979.
See also
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Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...
*
Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo (, ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. In 1987, he became the first president to be directly elected under the cur ...
*
Jeong Seung-hwa
Jeong Seung-hwa (; 27 February 1929 – 12 June 2002) was a South Korean general officer, and the 22nd Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army. He was present at the Blue House presidential compound, site of the assassination of Presiden ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jang, Tae-wan
South Korean generals
1931 births
Korean torture victims
2010 deaths
South Korean military personnel of the Vietnam War
Indong Jang clan
Members of the National Assembly (South Korea)