Army general, 19th Army Chief of Staff, 20th Minister of National Defense, first KBO commissioner
| Life | 1924 ~ 2010 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 달성 서씨 |
Seo Jong-cheol (徐鐘喆, 26 May 1924 - 20 November 2010) was a South Korean soldier and politician of the Dalseong Seo clan, born in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang. Late in the colonial period he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Japanese army, and after Liberation he was commissioned in the Republic of Korea Army in 1946 as a member of the first class of the Korea Military Academy. Early in the Korean War he served as commander of the 8th Regiment, tasked with defending the capital area.
As a major general on 16 May 1961 he took part in Park Chung-hee's coup. He later served as commandant of the Infantry School, commander of the 31st and 25th Divisions, head of the logistics, intelligence and personnel staffs at Army HQ, commander of the 3rd Corps, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commander of the First Army, and in 1969 became the 19th Army Chief of Staff, retiring as a full general in 1972. He then served as special adviser for security to the president and from 1973 to 1977 as the 20th Minister of National Defense. According to Wikipedia, when eight men were sentenced to death by a court martial in the People's Revolutionary Party Reconstruction Committee case on 8 April 1975, during his term, they were executed at once.
After leaving office he chaired the Korea Anti-Communist League and the Korea Total Security Central Council in 1981 and served as the first commissioner of the Korea Baseball Organization, becoming honorary commissioner in 1988. Wikipedia also states that he had Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo as aides during his general years and was a patron of the Hanahoe group. He died in 2010 at 87 and was interred at the Daejeon National Cemetery; his son Seo Seung-hwan served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the Park Geun-hye government. Because assessments of his military and political career differ, only public records are given, and whether he is classed as a collaborator could not be confirmed here.
Commissioned from the first class of the Korea Military Academy, he commanded divisions and a corps, chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commanded the First Army, became Army Chief of Staff in 1969 and retired as a full general in 1972.
He served as Minister of National Defense from 1973 to 1977. His term coincided with the 1975 executions in the People's Revolutionary Party Reconstruction Committee case, and assessments differ by viewpoint.
He chaired the Korea Anti-Communist League and was KBO commissioner. His son Seo Seung-hwan served as a minister of land and transport.
He is interred at the Daejeon National Cemetery.
His son Seo Seung-hwan served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.