Park Byong-kwon

Park Byong-kwon (朴炳權, January 8, 1920 – September 20, 2005) was a South Korean military officer and politician. He served as the 14th Minister of National Defense of South Korea, among other posts.

His family seat was Miryang and he was born in Nonsan County, South Chungcheong Province.

Biography

Park was born in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, on January 8, 1920. In 1940 he entered the literature department of Chosun Christian College (Yonhi College), where he obtained a bachelor's degree in 1944. In the same year he was forcibly conscripted as a student soldier.

After liberation, he joined the Korean Students' Military League, an organization formed by former student soldiers, and was active in it. He later withdrew from it together with Min Ki-sik, Choi Seok and others, and joined the Student Soldiers' Association, opposing the Korean Students' Military League. On December 5, 1945, when the US Army Military Government opened the Korean Military English School, he applied and passed the first round of selection on January 5, 1946.

After being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the army, he took part in the founding of the Korean National Defense Constabulary. After the 1st Regiment, Company A, was established in Seoul, he went to Busan, where together with Oh Deok-jun and Lee Chi-up he helped establish Company A of the 5th Regiment and carried out recruitment activities. After the formation of Companies A and B was completed, on September 10 of that year he led 123 members of the 5th Regiment, including Song Yo-chan, then a warrant officer, and was incorporated into the 8th Regiment, where he organized the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Regiment.

In February 1947 he was promoted to major, and from December he served as commander of the 3rd Regiment. On July 25, 1948, he was transferred to the Bureau of Defense Forces (統衛部, now the Ministry of National Defense). While serving as personal aide-de-camp under Lee Bum-suk, the first Minister of National Defense, he was assigned in January 1949 as head of the academic affairs office and battalion commander of the candidate cadet corps at the Korea Military Academy. Afterwards, in October 1949, he was promoted to colonel and at the same time became regimental commander of the candidate cadet corps of the Korea Military Academy.

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he served as chief of staff of the 5th Division and conducted delaying operations. Four months later, in October 1950, he was promoted to deputy division commander of the 5th Division and conducted anti-guerrilla operations in the Jirisan, Gimcheon and Yeongju areas. The following year, in February 1951, he took part in the Battle of Hongcheon, and in March he was transferred to become deputy division commander of the 2nd Division. On June 30 he was promoted to brigadier general and conducted the Battle of Omisan in Yeongyang, North Gyeongsang Province, and the advance on Sachang-ri.