Chae Byeong-deok
채병덕
A general whose colonial military career met failure at the war’s outbreak
At dawn on 28 June 1950, the Han River bridges were destroyed on his order.
Chae Byeong-deok was a general who moved from an officer career in the Imperial Japanese Army into the founding and expansion of the South Korean armed forces after liberation. When the Korean War began in June 1950, he was Army Chief of Staff and failed to organize adequate forward readiness and command, while bearing responsibility for the order that led to the premature destruction of the Han River bridges during the retreat from Seoul. Dismissed soon after the outbreak, he was sent to the southern front and killed in action at the Battle of Hadong in July.
Career timeline
- 1937Graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and commissioned as an artillery officer
- 1940–1945Instructor at the Japanese Army Ordnance School and manager of an army arsenal
- 1946Graduated from the Military English School and became commander of the 1st Regiment of the South Korean Constabulary
- 1948Chief of Staff of the National Defense Bureau and Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Ministry of National Defense
- 1949Second Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army
- 1950.04–1950.06.30Fourth Army Chief of Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces
- 1950.06.30–1950.07.27Commander of the South Gyeongsang Province Defence Command; killed at the Battle of Hadong