Gen. Paik Sun-yup Death | Obituary – S. Korea’s first 4-Star Gen. Paik Sun-yup age 100 passed away. A controversial figure, who fought in the Japanese-controlled Manchukuo Imperial Army, he also played a key role in the 1950 Korean War Battle of the Pusan Perimeter.
Paik Sun-yup (Korean: 백선엽; Hanja: 白善燁; November 23, 1920 – July 10 2020) was a retired South Korean military officer. He served both Manchukuo and South Korea, the latter during the Korean War.
Paik is known for his service during the Korean War and for being the first four-star general in the history of the South Korean military. His brother, Paik In-yeop, also served in the Republic of Korea Army during the Korean War, commanding the 17th Independent Regiment at the Battle of Ongjin and again in the Inchon Landings.
Paik was born in Kangsŏ-gun, South P’yŏngan, currently the city of Nampo, on November 23, 1920, during a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. He was born the second of three siblings, with an older sister and younger brother, being raised by a widowed mother. In 1925 the Paik family moved to Pyongyang where it lived under extremely poor conditions in a single, rented room. Unable to feed her family, Paik’s mother attempted to take the children and commit family suicide by jumping from the Taedong River bridge but was dissuaded from doing so by her older sister.
When the fighting broke out on June 25, 1950, he was assigned to defend Seoul as the 1st Infantry Division’s commanding officer. He finally retreated to South Gyeongsang but made an important contribution to the defense of the Pusan Perimeter, especially to the victory at the village of Dabudong.
On the move north, his 1st Division under the United States I Corps became the first to enter Pyongyang on October 19. He was one of the first officers to realize the Chinese entry into the war. He assumed the defense of northwestern Korea but was plagued by a larger Chinese army.
In April 1951, Paik has placed in command of the ROK I Corps in charge of eastern Korea. He soon found the South Korean military insufficiently trained; they took intensive training while the battle line was fixed. In July 1951, Paik was elected to represent the ROK military at the Kaesong Truce Talk but failed to attain results.
In November, Task Force Paik was set up to destroy communist guerrillas on Jirisan. The campaign, known as Operation Rat Killer, was successfully finished in March 1952. In recognition of the success, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and Task Force Paik was transformed to the new ROK II Corps. Then he was appointed to Army Chief of Staff in July 1952. He devoted himself in building up the ROK Army. In January 1953, he was promoted to the rank of general in the ROK Army; which made him the first 4-star general in the South Korean military.
We express our sympathy and deepest condolences to Paik Sun-yup’s family today and in the days, weeks, months, and years that are to come as they cope with his passing.
S. Korea’s first 4-star Gen. Paik Sun-yup dies at 100. A controversial figure, who fought in the Japanese-controlled Manchukuo Imperial Army, he also played a key role in the 1950 Korean War Battle of the Pusan Perimeter.https://t.co/9tAg15O50n
— Anthony Kuhn (@akuhnNPRnews) July 10, 2020
Also, Read Jimmy Lee Blount Death | Dies At 47 In A Fatal Crash