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Choe Yong-gon | |
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최용건 | |
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| Vice President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea | |
| In office 28 December 1972 – 19 September 1976 | |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Succeeded by | Kang Ryang-uk |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 2 September 1948 – 20 September 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Kim Kwang-hyop |
| Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly | |
| In office 20 September 1957 – 28 December 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Kim Tu-bong |
| Succeeded by | Hwang Jang-yop |
| Chief Commander of the Korean People's Army | |
| In office 2 September 1948 – 4 July 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Kim Il Sung |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1900-06-21)21 June 1900 |
| Died | 19 September 1976(1976-09-19) (aged 76) Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Political party | Democratic,Workers' |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | North Korea |
| Branch/service | Korean People's Army |
| Years of service | 1927–1976 |
| Rank |  Ch'asu(Vice Marshal) |
| Commands | Supreme Commander |
| Battles/wars | Chinese Civil War Korean Independence Movement World War II Korean War |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최용건 |
| Hanja | 崔庸健 |
| RR | Choe Yonggeon |
| MR | Ch'oe Yonggŏn |
Choe Yong-gon (Korean: 최용건; 21 June 1900 – 19 September 1976) was a North Korean military officer and politician. He served as theChief Commander of theKorean People's Army from 1948 to 1950, and asdefence minister from 1948 to 1957. He also served asChairman of theStanding Committee of theSupreme People's Assembly of North Korea from 1957 to 1972.
Choe was born inTaechon County,North Pyongan,Korean Empire in 1900. For his participation in the 1919March First Movement, he was imprisoned by theEmpire of Japan for three years until his release in 1922. Afterwards he emigrated to China where he studied at theYunnan Military Academy and later theWhampoa Military Academy, graduating in 1924 and 1927 respectively.
Choe's first military deployment was to fight the ChineseNorthern Expedition of 1927. He also took part in theCanton Communist riots in December later that year. He moved to Manchuria to form a guerrilla organization and military academy school to train the anti-Japanese guerrilla army. Choe joined theChinese Communist Party and theNortheast Anti-Japanese United Army in 1936.
He led a guerrilla unit against theJapanese after they occupiedManchuria (Manchukuo) in September 1931. In 1940, Choe and his troops had fled to the Soviet-Manchurian border in theSoviet Union and participated with the88th Independent Brigade of theSoviet Army.
In 1945, he returned to Korea after Japan was defeated inWorld War II.
In 1946, he became the chairman of theKorean Democratic Party (KDP) and led this organization to a pro-communist course.[1] He was, however, concurrently secretly a member of the rulingWorkers' Party of Korea and tasked with keeping the KDP from becoming an independent political force.[2] Afterwards, he came into more promotions and by February 1948, he was appointed theChief Commander of the Korean People's Army.[1] When North Korea was established in Pyongyang on September 9, 1948, he was appointed the Minister of National Security. He was in fact the senior field commander for all the North Korean armies during theKorean War, from thefirst invasion of South Korea in June 1950 till theKorean Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953.
In 1953, Choe waspromoted toVice Marshal and was made theMinister of Defence.[1] In September 1957, he was removed from his position as Minister of Defense and made thePresident of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, a largely ceremonial position.[1] In this post, he was North Korea's nominalhead of state. He was appointed asVice President by theSupreme People's Assembly in 1972 and he left the office in 1974.[3][4] He died in Pyongyang in 1976.[5] Following his death he was given a state funeral.[6]
In his memoirs,Hwang Jang-yop, a formerchairman of the Supreme People's Assembly whodefected to South Korea said Choe was famous for being very hard to have close relations with, but in reality he was not that strict.[7]
In 1970 there were reports of his deteriorating health, and after attending in November1970 the KWP Congress and retaining his Vice-Marshal position, he departed for treatment in theGerman Democratic Republic.[8]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Head of State of North Korea 20 September 1957 – 28 December 1972 | Succeeded byasPresident of the Republic |
| Preceded by | Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly 1957–1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by — | Minister of People's Armed Forces 7 February 1953 – 20 September 1957 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by New Office | Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army 8 February 1948 – 4 July 1950 | Succeeded by |
| Chairmen of the Standing Committee |
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| President of the Republic |
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| President of the Presidium |
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| Chairman of the National Defense Commission |
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| President of State Affairs |
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Marshals of North Korea | |
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| Generalissimos of the DPRK | |
| Marshals of the Korean People's Army | |
| Vice-Marshals of the Korean People's Army | |
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| National | |
