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Chun In-bum

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Chun In-bum
AllegianceSouth Korea
Service / branchSouth Korean Army
RankLieutenant General

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Chun In-bum is a decorated South Korean Army veteran and authority on Korean politics and military relations.

Biography

Early Life and Military Service

Chun was born September 6, 1958 in the South Korean capital city of Seoul. He moved to the United States of America at the age of seven with his mother, who was serving as a South Korean diplomat,[1] and spent four and a half years in New York City before returning to Korea in 1969 to finish high school. He was accepted to the Korea Military Academy (KMA) in 1977. There, he studied military history and was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1981 upon completion of his degree.[2]

Shortly after graduation, then-Lieutenant Chun was selected as an aide to Lieutenant General Lee Ki-Baek, making him the youngest officer in the history of the army to be appointed aide to a three-star general.[1] In October 1983, General Lee was nearly killed in a terrorist bombing in Rangoon and Chun was credited with saving Lee’s life in the aftermath of the attack.[3][4] He was awarded the National Security Medal (Kwang-Bok) for his actions.[5][1]

Later Life and Military Service

Chun continued his career by serving in the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) in 1988, the Korean Special Warfare Command (SWC) in 1990, and in the ROK Army Chief of Staff Office.[1] From 1995 to 1997, he commanded a battalion in the 22nd ROK Infantry Division. After promotion to brigadier general he served in positions commanding 29th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division of the Republic of Korea Army and helped direct elections in Iraq in 2005.[6] For his service in Iraq he received the Hwa-Rang Combat medal and became the first Korean officer since the Vietnam War to be awarded the U.S. Bronze Star.[7][8] Later in 2005, he served as the Director of U.S. Affairs at the Korean Ministry of National Defense.[5]

He was promoted to major general in 2009, [9][3] and to lieutenant general in November 2013/ He was assigned to head the ROK Special Warfare Command, for which he received U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) medal in 2016, becoming the first Korean to receive the honor.[10][11]

In 2015, Chun was promoted to deputy commander for the First ROK Army (FROKA)[2] and became a Distinguished Fellow of New Westminster College.[1]

Retirement and Current Activities

Chun retired from active duty in July 2016.[10][1] After his retirement he briefly worked for Moon Jae-in’s presidential campaign[12] before stepping down[10] to conduct fellowships with Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies (CEAP)[13][7] and the US-Korea Institute of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.[14]

Personal Life

LTG(R) Chun is married to Shim Hwa-Jin, former president of Sung-Shin Women’s University. The couple have two sons.[5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chun In-bum.
  1. ^ a b c d e f "New Westminster College, British Columbia, Canada – Lieutenant General In-Bum Chun, BA, MS, MA, PhD, MSM, BSM, LM, NSM". newwestminstercollege.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  2. ^ a b "Author Bio | NK News - North Korea News". NK News - North Korea News. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  3. ^ a b "Retired general sets example for commanders". koreatimes. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  4. ^ "Former general says he knows how powerful North Korea's military is". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  5. ^ a b c "In Bum Chun bio". www.icasinc.org. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  6. ^ "In Bum Chun bio". ICAS. ICAS. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2018. He was recognized by both the Republic of Korea and the United States for his contribution to the first "Fair and Free" elections in Iraq on 30 January 2005, with the Hwa-Rang Combat medal and the US Bronze Star medal.
  7. ^ a b "In-Bum Chun". Brookings. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  8. ^ "이라크 총선 성공지원 공로". kookbang.dema.mil.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  9. ^ "Howard Altman: Former South Korean commando leader liked Trump's 'fire and fury'". 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  10. ^ a b c "Chun In-bum steps down as Minjoo Party security advisor | NK News - North Korea News". NK News - North Korea News. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  11. ^ "[단독] 전인범 전 특전사령관, 한국군 최초 미군 통합특전사 훈장". 종합일간지 : 신문/웹/모바일 등 멀티 채널로 국내외 실시간 뉴스와 수준 높은 정보를 제공 (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  12. ^ "Former general says he knows how powerful North Korea's military is". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  13. ^ "Q & A with a South Korean lieutenant general – The Sentinel". The Sentinel. 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  14. ^ "The U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS | SAIS". www.sais-jhu.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
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