Pyo Moo-won ( ko, 표무원; February 10, 1925 – April 15, 2006) was a military officer and politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He was an officer of Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea who

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

to the North Korean side and joined the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

Biography

Born in 1925 in Daegu,

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

. He graduated from Daesung Middle School in Tokyo. He was born in Japan as a special supporter; he also served as a military soldier.장창국 (1983년 3월 26일). “남기고 싶은 이야기들《3671》제79화 육사졸업생들<124>부대월북사건”. 《중앙일보》. 2020년 1월 17일에 확인함.
/ref> After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1945, he was active in the Daegu district of the left armed forces reserve, and enlisted as a soldier with the recommendation of the vice-chairman Ha Jae-pal, who was from Daegu who was participating in the creation of the 6th Regiment. Ha Jae-pal, who had a strong left-wing propensity, organized a private organization called the “National Armed Forces Reserve” in Daegu shortly after the end of the Second World War, and assembled the left-wing youth. When the U.S. military government drove into an illegal organization, he entered the Military English School ( ko, 군사영어학교), the predecessor of the Yuksa, and completed the 6th Regiment Formation after becoming an army marshal. Pyo Mu-won enlisted in the 6th Regiment, joined the left wing Kim Jong-suk as Lieutenant Sergeant, and then entered the 2nd

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 ...

with the recommendation of the left-wing Choi Nam-geun (Lt. Neung-geun). Pyo Mu-won was appointed as the 1st Battalion Commander of the 8th Regiment in

Chuncheon Chuncheon (; ; formerly romanized as Chunchŏn; literally ''spring river'') is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some ...

, and on May 4, 1949, on the afternoon of marching and night training, he deceived the soldiers and gathered 455 battalions. Subsequently, he fled to the north of the 38th parallel and surrendered himself to the

. There were 4 officers and 213 soldiers. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Choi Dong-seop and Han Jeong-hee, some troops escaped and 239 returned. Major

Kang Thae-mu Kang Thae-mu ( ko, 강태무; 15 March 1925 – 17 June 2007) was a military officer and politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Although he was an officer of the Korean People’s Army, he led the troops into the war just befor ...

, the second battalion commander of Pyo Mu-won's hometown friend, came to North Korea in the same way. On May 5, 1949,

was awarded Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and retrained at Pyongyang Academy. In the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he landed on the Samcheok officers as the 424th Battalion Commander of the 766th Regiment. In 1951, he was dispatched to the prison camps as an instructor to conduct the ideological education of the ROK prisoners. In 1952, he was the battalion commander of the 22nd Brigade of the Korean People's Army (President Ho-seong Song). In 1954, he served as the head of the Political School of the North Korean Residents, in 1961, Vice-Chairman of the Military People's Committee, and in 1977, Vice-Chairman of the People's Committee of the

North Pyongan Province North Pyongan Province (Phyŏnganbukto; , also spelled North P'yŏngan), is a western province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former P'yŏng'an Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, th ...

. Re-enlisted in 1996, he served as a lecturer for the Victory of the Fatherland Liberation War as a rank of Lieutenant General and received the

Order of Kim Il-sung The Order of Kim Il-sung () is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Jong-il, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labour. The order, named after the country's first leader Kim Il-sung, was instituted in 1 ...

and the 'National Unification Award' for his contribution to the system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyo, Mu-won North Korean generals North Korean military personnel of the Korean War Korea Military Academy alumni South Korean defectors Workers' Party of Korea politicians 1925 births 2006 deaths South Korean emigrants to North Korea People from Daegu