Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Han Moo-hyup (''Alfonso Moohyup Han'', August 22, 1923 – August 22, 2017) was a Korean army general, businessman, and high-level government official of the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

. He was the Honorary Chairman of th
Korea Esperanto-Asocio
formerly major general of the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

, and CEO and owner of Hyundai Insurance.

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

, former

president of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...

, officiated at Han's wedding as an old friend.

Personal

Han, as a young boy, fled North Korea alone and joined the

ROK Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

. After Han graduated from the prestigious

Korea Military Academy Korea Military Academy (KMA) is the leading South Korean institution for the education and training of officer cadets for the Republic of Korea Army. Along with the Korea Army Academy (Yeongcheon), it produces the largest number of senior officer ...

in 1948, he earned a second bachelor's degree in political science and diplomacy from

Dankook University Dankook University (commonly referred to as Dankook), abbreviated as DU or DKU, is a prestigious private research university in Yongin and Cheonan, South Korea. The university was established in 1947. It was the first university established after ...

(1962). He then pursued graduate study at

Hanyang University Hanyang University (Korean: 한양대학교) is a private research university in South Korea. The main campus is located in Seoul and its satellite campus, the Education Research Industry Cluster (ERICA campus), is in Ansan. ''Hanyang'' (한양, ...

(1965),

Korea National Defense University Korea National Defense University is a national university located in Nonsan, South Korea. It was founded in 1955. It got its current configuration in 2000. The university was situated in Seoul from its founding until its relocation to Nonsan i ...

, and

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Han is known to have had close relationship to the former Korean president

and his family. Han married Kim Yi-jung, and together they have three sons and two daughters. He died on , his 94th birthday, in

Bundang-gu Bundang-gu is the largest and most populous district ('' gu'') of Seongnam, a major city in the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea. Bundang-gu is one of South Korea's wealthiest and highest developed areas, being the nation's first and largest comple ...

Career

Military career

As a professional military officer, he served in various key posts, including commander of the 26th Infantry Division, director for intelligence (G-2) of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, and commander of Korea Army Training Center. Also, he worked for the Korean CIA ( National Intelligence Service) as head of investigation. Later, he was offered a legislative seat by then ruling

New Korea Party The New Korea Party (; NKP) was founded by the merging of Roh Tae-woo's Democratic Justice Party, Kim Young Sam's Reunification Democratic Party and Kim Jong-pil's New Democratic Republican Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party (; DLP). It ...

, but turned down the offer.

Business career

After his retirement from the

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, Han became a financier and headed insurance companies for over 15 years. He became the CEO and owner of Hyundai Insurance (formerly known as Dongbang Fire and Marine Insurance Co.) and later CEO of Haedong Fire & Marine Insurance (Regent Fire Insurance). As a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, Han also cofounded the Catholic Businessmen's Association of Korea in 1978 and served as deputy chairman.

Educational career

Han was named chairman of the Board of Trustees of Kumoh Foundation, which owns Kumoh National Institute of Technology and Kumoh Technical High School. He later became chairman of Korea Esperanto-Asocio (KEA) in 1978, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the

University of Suwon The University of Suwon (Hangul: 수원대학교) is a university in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Foundation The university was founded by the Kowoon Foundation in 1977 and authorized in 1981 with nine departments. The sister ...

. He was later re-elected as KEA chairman in 1991 and served for 4 years.

''La Espero''

In 1976, Han founded "''La Espero el Koreio''," a public relations magazine which introduced Korean culture and literature to the world in

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

. In total, 123 editions were published before the discontinuance of the magazine in 1994. Han and his publication "La Espero" played a crucial role in the development of Esperanto in Korea. He served as chairman of the organizing committee of the

World Congress of Esperanto The World Esperanto Congress ( eo, Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 113 years. The congresses have be ...

, and presently he is the only Korean honorary member of the

World Esperanto Association The Universal Esperanto Association ( eo, Universala Esperanto-Asocio, UEA), also known as the World Esperanto Association, is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with 5501 individual members in 121 countries and 9215 t ...

( Universala Esperanto-Asocio) and honorary chairman of KEA.

Awards

*Minister of Finance Award (1978) *Golden Chungmu Medal (Korea) *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(U.S.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Moo-hyup 1923 births 2017 deaths South Korean businesspeople South Korean Roman Catholics South Korean generals Esperanto educators Dankook University alumni Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit South Korean Esperantists