Independence activist who served the Korean Provisional Government as State Council member, Finance Minister and Secretary-General; pen name Ilgang
| Life | 1886 ~ 1934 |
| Era | 일제강점기 |
| Clan | 영산 김씨 |
Kim Cheol (金澈, 1886-1934) was an independence activist from Hampyeong, South Jeolla, of the Yeongsan Kim, with the pen name Ilgang (一江). Born at Gubong village, Hamjeong-ri, Singwang-myeon, Hampyeong, he graduated from Gyeongseong Law School and from Meiji University's law faculty before going into exile in Shanghai in 1917.
In 1918 he took part as a promoter in founding the New Korea Youth Party, and in January 1919 he slipped into Korea, sold his lands and brought 10,000 won in independence funds to Shanghai. He took part in founding the Provisional Government and served as Provisional Assembly member, finance and law commissioner, State Council member and Minister of Military Affairs, and in 1932 is said to have led the Lee Bong-chang and Yun Bong-gil operations together with Kim Gu as military minister.
After the government moved to Hangzhou he served as Finance Minister and in April 1934 was elected Secretary-General of the State Council, but on 29 June that year he died at Hangzhou of acute pneumonia. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in 1962.
He finished middle school at Gwangheung in 1908, graduated from Gyeongseong Law School in 1912 and the law faculty of Meiji University in 1915, and returned home. After returning he is said to have consulted his brothers and given part of the land to household servants and released them. In February 1917 he went into exile in Shanghai.
In 1918 he took part in founding the New Korea Youth Party, ran its organ Sinhan Cheongnyeon and served as a counselor of the Korean Red Cross. In 1919 he took part in founding the Provisional Government, and was Chief Auditor in 1924, State Council member in 1926 and Minister of Military Affairs in 1927. In 1930 he was one of the 14 directors of the Korean Independence Party.
When the government moved to Hangzhou in May 1932, he became Finance Minister. He was elected Secretary-General of the State Council in April 1934 and died on 29 June at Guangji Hospital in Hangzhou at the age of 47. In his home village of Gubong, Hampyeong, a Provisional Government building has been restored and a memorial hall built.
He was first buried in the Hushantang church cemetery in Hangzhou, China, which was lost in 1978 when apartments were built. Near the memorial hall in his home village of Gubong, Hampyeong, there is now a shared grave made in 1993 with soil brought from the Hangzhou site.
He had two daughters, Kim Mi-gyeong and Kim Hye-gyeong, with his wife Choe Hye-sun, a nurse-turned-activist who received the Patriotism Medal in 2010. His nephews Kim Seok and Kim Deok-geun were also anti-Japanese activists.