Park Myung-keun (; September 7, 1928 – December 9, 2004) was a former
South Korean 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 ...
captain,
prosecutor, and a member of the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 14th
South Korean National Assembly
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. T ...
. He represented the
Democratic Republican Party for his first three terms and the Democratic Libertarian Party for his last term. Under the
Park Chung-hee administration, he worked as the chief of the Office of the President (大統領秘書室) and the Vice Leader of the Democratic Republican Party.
Early life and education
Park was born on September 7, 1928, in 199th district, Yeongtae-ri, Wollong-myeon,
Paju-si.
He was the only son of Park Seung-nyun and Kim Jong-sun.
His father passed away when he was two years old.
After graduating from high school, he received a degree in political science from
Seoul National University.
Park was fluent in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
.
Military career
Early career
Political career
When Park was a secretary to President Park Chung-hee, he was known to be one of the President's favorites. Some of the largest projects under the administration in which Park had an instrumental role included the construction of the
Gyeongbu Expressway,
the most used highway in the country, where he worked with his close friend
Chung Ju-yung
Chung Ju-yung or Jung Joo-young (; November 25, 1915 – March 21, 2001), was a South Korean entrepreneur, businessman and the founder of Hyundai Groups, one of the largest chaebols in South Korea. Raised as the eldest son of a poor Korean far ...
, the founder of
Hyundai Group.
Post-political career
Death and funeral
Park died on December 9, 2004 at
Samsung Medical Center. The funeral was held on the 11th at 8 A.M. He is survived by his wife and children.
Monument construction
In early 2008, the 14-member "Monument Construction Committee" (송덕비 건립추진위원회) was found. The committee was headed by Kim Chul-young, who was a former town mayor of Moon-san.
In December 14, 2008, the monument unveiling ceremony was held. The ceremony was attended by over hundred people, including members of the National Assembly, the mayor of Paju, the representative of the
Gyeonggi Province
Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
, members of the provincial council of Gyeonggi, the chair of the Gyeonggi department of education, and the
alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
.
The monument was funded by donations.
Below is the text engraved on the monument, written by Song Dal-yong, who was a former mayor of Paju, and engraved by Lim Jae-cheol.
The text is written in
Korean mixed script.
References
South Korean politicians
1928 births
2004 deaths
{{SouthKorea-politician-stub