KORGAD Demands Burial of the Late General Paik Sun-Yup at the Seoul National Cemetery and Posthumous Promotion to Field Marshal

2020-7-14, KORGAD Statement

Expressing our deepest condolences over the death of the retired Republic of Korea (ROK) Army General Paik Sun-yup, South Korea’s war hero as well as a symbol of the ROK-U.S. alliance, who safeguarded the nation with strong patriotic spirit during the Korean War, we at the Korean Retired Generals and Admirals Defending the Nation (KORGAD) urge the South Korean government to offer General Paik the proper courtesy he is entitled to.

First, the late General Paik is fully entitled to be buried at the Seoul National Cemetery with full honors. Like the Arlington National Cemetery in the United States, the Seoul National Cemetery, home of some 110,000 Korean War dead and four former presidents, is a symbolic place that signifies the free and democratic South Korea.  The nation’s most renowned war hero, who saved the nation from despair during the Korean War, wanted to be buried among his fellow Korean War soldiers.  The South Korean government should be reminded that it was General Paik and President Rhee Syngman, who decided to construct the national cemetery for the soldiers of the Korean War at Dongjak, Seoul, after an aerial survey in 1952.

[Truncated] We strongly recommend General Paik’s posthumous promotion to Field Marshal. As a division commander, Corps commander, and as South Korea’s first four-star general and Army Chief of Staff, General Paik made an incredible contribution to national security and shaping of the ROK-U.S. Alliance. He defended the Nakdong River front line in the summer of 1950, when the nation was on the edge of a cliff as the North Korean forces occupied more than 90% of South Korean territory.  He spearheaded the allied North-bound counterattack and liberation of Pyongyang after General MacArthur’s successful Incheon landing.  He also established the 1^st Field Army after the armistice. General Paik was a “living legend of the alliance,” who received various military honors and awards of merit from both governments, and the U.S. forces have saluted his legacy. [Truncated]

About Korean Retired Generals and Admirals Defending the Nation (KORGAD)

KORGAD was established on January 30, 2019, as a non-profit private NGO concerned about national security. Its establishment was directly prompted by the Inter-Korean Military Agreement signed in 2018, which is believed to undermine the ROK-U.S. Alliance as well as South Korea’s security. Its membership comprises some 850 South Korean retired generals and admirals, including many former four-star generals, defense ministers, some civilian experts, and about 500 honorary members, all striving to enlighten South Koreans in the area of national security.