송요찬 宋堯讚
Army officer and politician who served as Army Chief of Staff and martial-law commander, then Defense Minister and head of cabinet after the May 16 coup; Jeongga-gong branch
| Life | 1918 ~ 1980 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 여산 송씨 |
Life & career
Song Yo-chan (1918-1980) was a South Korean army officer and politician of the Yeosan Song clan, Jeongga-gong branch. Born in Cheongyang, South Chungcheong, he joined the Japanese army as a volunteer in 1939 and rose to sergeant; after liberation in 1945 he trained at the Military English School, was commissioned in 1946 and took part in building the new army. He commanded units during the suppression of the Jeju 4.3 uprising, anti-guerrilla campaigns and the Korean War, and rose to lieutenant general.
He was Army Chief of Staff from 1959 to 1960. During the April 19 Revolution of 1960, as martial-law commander of Seoul he is said to have been prepared to fire on student protesters but ordered a halt after fellow general Choi Kyung-rok persuaded him. He supported the May 16, 1961 coup and, through 1962, served as Minister of National Defense, Foreign Minister, head of the cabinet and head of the Economic Planning Board; he resigned in 1962 after a dispute over currency reform.
In 1963 he opposed Park Chung-hee's run for president and was arrested by the KCIA; allegations concerning a summary execution in 1950 and the April 19 events were raised, but the case was dismissed in 1964. He stood as a candidate in the presidential election but withdrew in October, later worked at Incheon Steel, and died of kidney disease in Chicago on October 18, 1980. His service in the Japanese army in the colonial period is a part of his record that is discussed in assessments.
Between April 19 and May 16
Song Yo-chan is remembered both for the decision to stop firing in April 1960 and for joining the cabinet right after May 16. Assessments do not converge: some criticize the army's intervention in politics and his service as a volunteer soldier at the end of Japanese rule, while others cite his work on benefits for soldiers and the military pension system. It is best to consider both sides.
Timeline
- 1918 Born in Cheongyang, South Chungcheong
- 1939 Enlists as a volunteer in the Japanese army
- 1946 Commissioned after the Military English School
- 1959-1960 Army Chief of Staff
- 1960 Martial-law commander in Seoul at April 19; orders a halt to firing
- 1961-1962 Defense Minister, Foreign Minister, head of cabinet, head of Economic Planning Board
- 1964 Case over the 1963 arrest dismissed
- 1980 Dies in Chicago
Grave
After an army funeral he is said to have been buried in his father's grave area in Cheongyang, South Chungcheong.
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