Kim Jae-gyu
| Kim Jae-gyu 金載圭 |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
March 6, 1926 Seonsangun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Japanese Korea |
| Died | May 24, 1980 (aged 54) Seoul, South Korea |
| Cause of death | Execution (hanging) |
| Residence | Seoul, South Korea |
| Education | Hanyang University graduate Engineering Master |
| Occupation | Soldier, Jeongmujik government official |
| Spouse(s) | Kim Young Hee |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김재규 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Jae-gyu |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Chaegyu |
| Pen name | |
| Hangul | 덕산 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Deoksan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Tŏksan |
Kim Jae-gyu (Hangul: 김재규, March 6, 1926 – May 24, 1980) was a South Korean Army Lieutenant General and the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He assassinated South Korean President Park Chung-hee—who had been one of his closest friends—on October 26, 1979. He was subsequently executed by hanging on May 24, 1980.
He remains a controversial figure with many contradictions, regarded by some as a patriot who ended Park's 18-year military dictatorship, and by others as Park's henchman who killed his long-time benefactor out of personal grievance. For many years, the latter was the prevailing view, but later revelations in the early 2000s about Kim's relationship with some leaders of the democracy movement prompted a re-evaluation in some circles.
Kim was born in Park Chung-hee's hometown, Gumi-si, in the southern Korean province of Gyeongsangbuk-do during the Japanese occupation. He graduated from Gyeongbuk University in 1945 and became a middle school teacher until the newly independent South Korean government established its military and created the Korea Military Academy, then called Joseon Defense Academy. He graduated from the Joseon Defense Academy in December 1946, the same year as Park Chung-hee, and from Army College in 1952. He served as a regimental commander in 1954 and as vice-president of the Army College in 1957, where Kim Gye-won was the president at the time. (Later Kim Gye-won became Chief Secretary to President Park and was present at the scene of assassination.) In 1961, when Park Chung-hee staged a military coup to seize power, Kim did not participate in the coup and was suspected of being a counterrevolutionary. He was temporarily detained until he was released on Park's order. He served Park's military dictatorship from then until his assassination of Park in 1979.
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