Lee Dae-yong (Hangul: 이대용; Hanja: 李大鎔; 20 November 1925 – 14 November 2017) was a South Korean army officer and diplomat.
Early life[]
On 20 November 1925. he was born in North Hwanghae Province.
Military career[]
During Korean War, he served as an officer in 6th Infantry Division, Republic of Korea Army.
He showed excellent leadership as a commander of 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment in the Battle of Chuncheon.[1]
Diplomat career[]
In 1963, he was appointed as military attaché to an Embassy of the South Korea, South Vietnam. In 1973, he was appointed as minister in Embassy of the South Korea, South Vietnam (Originally, he belonged to Korean Central Intelligence Agency)[2] During Fall of Saigon, South Korea diplomats tried to escape through Operation Frequent Wind. But Lee Dae-yong and two South Korean diplomats are failed to escape. They were arrested by the People's Army of Vietnam and held for questioning in Chí Hòa Prison in October 1975.[3]
North Korean government tried to take them. So South Korean government negotiated with North Korea for the return of them.[4]
After break of 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.[5][6]
0n 12 April 1980, Vietnamese government released them finally and they returned to South Korea.[7]
After return[]
In 2001, he met Vietnam's ambassador to South Korea 'Dương Chính Thức', who was the official responsible to arrest Lee Dae-yong at that time.[8]
Awards and decorations[]
Legacy[]
In 1986, his story was turned into a drama (ko:사이공 억류기) on MBC.
References[]
External links[]
The original article can be found at Lee Dae-yong and the edit history here.