Lee Dae-yong (; 20 November 1925 – 14 November 2017) was a South Koreanarmy officer and diplomat.
Early life
Lee was born in
North Hwanghae Province
North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; , lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital is Sari ...
military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
to the South Korean embassy in
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
. In 1973, he was appointed as a
minister
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
in the South Korean embassy in
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
(Originally, he belonged to the Korean Central Intelligence Agency)
During the Fall of Saigon, South Korean diplomats attempted to flee South Vietnam as part of Operation Frequent Wind. Lee and two South Korean diplomats (Ahn Hee-wan and Seo Byeong-ho) failed to escape. They were arrested by the
People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
and held for questioning in
Chí Hòa Prison
Chí Hòa Prison ( or ') is a functioning Vietnamese prison located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The prison is an octagonal building on a 7-hectare siteNorth Korean government tried to take the prisoners, but the South Korean government negotiated with North Korea for their return to South Korea.
Following the Sino-Vietnamese War, North Korea supported China. This has soured relations between Vietnam and North Korea.
At that time, the
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
businessman Shaul Eisenberg worked as a secret envoy for South Korea.
On 12 April 1980, Vietnamese government released Lee and the two other diplomats to South Korea.베트남抑留(억류) 세外交官(외교관) 귀국 李大鎔公使(이대용공사)·安熙完(안희완) 徐丙鎬領事(서병호영사)... /ref>
After return
In 2001, Lee met Vietnam's ambassador to South Korea 'Dương Chính Thức', who was the official responsible for his arrest in 1975. /ref>