Lee Dae-yong (; 20 November 1925 – 14 November 2017) was a South Korean

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer and diplomat.

Early life

Lee was born in

North Hwanghae Province North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; , lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital is S ...

on 20 November 1925.

Military career

During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, he served as an officer in the 6th Infantry Division,

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...

. He served as a commander of the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment in the

Battle of Chuncheon The Battle of Chuncheon () was one of a series of coordinated attacks beginning on 25 June 1950 that marked the beginning of the Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought ...

Diplomat career

In 1963, Lee was appointed as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

to the South Korean embassy in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. 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 The National Intelligence Service (NIS; ) is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA; ), during the rule of general Park Chung Hee's military Sup ...

) During the

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

, South Korean diplomats attempted to flee South Vietnam as part of

Operation Frequent Wind Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Sai ...

. Lee and two South Korean diplomats (Ahn Hee-wan and Seo Byeong-ho) failed to escape. They were arrested by the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

and held for questioning in

Chí Hòa Prison Chí Hòa Prison ( or ') is a functioning Vietnamese prison located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The prison is an octagonal building on a 7-hectare site North Korean government North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

tried to take the prisoners, but the

South Korean government The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

negotiated with North Korea for their return to South Korea. Following the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a brief conflict that occurred in early 1979 between China and Vietnam. China launched an offensive ostensibly in response to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia in 1978, whi ...

, North Korea supported China. This has soured relations between

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and North Korea. At that time, the Israeli businessman

Shaul Eisenberg Shaul Nehemia Eisenberg (; 22 September 1921 – 27 March 1997) was an Israeli businessman and billionaire tycoon. Biography Shaul Eisenberg was born in Munich to a religious Jewish family from Poland, being the fifth out of six children born t ...

worked as a secret envoy for South Korea. On 12 April 1980,

Vietnamese government The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (; less formally the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam, ) is the cabinet and the central executive arm of the state administration of Vietnam. The members of the Governmen ...

released Lee and the two other diplomats to South Korea.베트남抑留(억류) 세外交官(외교관) 귀국 李大鎔公使(이대용공사)·安熙完(안희완) 徐丙鎬領事(서병호영사)...
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After return

In 2001, Lee met Vietnam's ambassador to South Korea 'Dương Chính Thức', who was the official responsible for his arrest in 1975.
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Awards and decorations

* Chungmu Order of Military Merit (1950) * Hwarang Order of Military Merit (1951)

Legacy

In 1986, his story was turned into a

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

( :ko:사이공 억류기) on MBC.

References

External links

Mini Documentary on KBS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Dae-yong South Korean military personnel of the Korean War South Korean military personnel of the Vietnam War South Korean people of the Vietnam War Vietnam War prisoners of war 1925 births 2017 deaths People from North Hwanghae Province South Korean diplomats