Former Minister of National Defense Chang Do-yong passed away in Orlando, Florida on Friday. Chang, 89, had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Chang was the one of the last retired generals imprisoned by the Park Chung-hee administration in the early 1960s on charges of anti-revolutionary activities against the coup led by the late former president.
Chang was the Army chief of staff at the time of the coup on May 16, 1961, and was appointed as minister of defense, and chairman of the revolution committee and that of the national reconstruction committee after Park took over the government.
Chang Do-yong (left) is seen with former President Park Chung-hee after the coup in May 1961. (Yonhap News)
However, he was removed from all posts in June, and retired as a lieutenant general in August of that year. Soon after his retirement, he was arrested by the Korea Central Intelligence Agency and in 1962 he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of anti-revolutionary activities. The sentence, however, was not carried out and Chang emigrated to the U.S. in May of that year.
Although he had been accused of standing by while the coup took place, Chang claimed in his 2001 book that such claims were fabricated by Park’s supporters, who were “significant obstacles to Korea’s democratic development.”
In 1969 Chang received a doctorate in politics from Michigan State University, and taught at Western Michigan University until 1993.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
