Yevgeny Ivanovich Kim (russian: Евгений Иванович Ким; 27 February 1932 – 12 November 1998) was an intelligence officer in the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

and the recipient of the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

Early life

Kim was born on 1932 in

Gochang County Gochang County (''Gochang-gun'') is a county in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is a rural area, and is home to only one institution of higher education: Gochang Polytechnic College. Notable people from Gochang include the 20th-century ...

Zenrahoku-dō was one of the administrative divisions of Chōsen, with its capital at Jeonju, Zenshū (present day Jeonju, South Korea). The province consisted of what is now the South Korean province of North Jeolla Province, North Jeolla. Population Numbe ...

Korea, Empire of Japan Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offici ...

(now North Jeolla Province, South Korea) to a Korean peasant family. His family later migrated to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. His name was Kim Yong Chue until 1978.

KGB career

In 1960 he graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the

Leningrad State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

with a degree in Japanese

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

. Kim was fluent in Japanese, Korean, English and Spanish languages. Kim served in the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR from 1960. In 1966, as intelligence agent, he began to work in an unidentified country with a complex intelligence-operational situation. There he showed himself to be an expert intelligence agent, distinguished by high professionalism, broad outlook, good analytical and organizational skills. Working undercover until 1989, he successfully managed the autonomous illegal residency created with his direct participation and had contacts who were sources of valuable documentary information; through these contacts Kim obtained information on priority issues which were highly appreciated and implemented according to the highest priority. Currently, the identification of the country in which Kim worked remains classified. It is assumed that he worked in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where other Soviet Koreans in KGB were assigned in those days, but this is unconfirmed. Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service S.E. Naryshkin voiced the name of Kim as an important agent of an illegal immigrant working in Japan. Abroad, Kim managed to achieve a high post in the civil service and began to transmit valuable information to the USSR. A couple of times, the KGB arranged trips for Kim to meet with his wife and son, who remained in Moscow as the Slavic appearance of his wife could create risks during his assignment. But such trips were very rare. However, he later divorced from his wife following the death of his son from drowning. He returned home for one day, to prepare for his son's funeral. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 21 December 1987, Kim was awarded the high title of

with the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

and the Gold Star medal for "courage and heroism displayed in the performance of his official duty". After his return to the USSR, Kim continued to work in the central apparatus of the KGB.

Later life

Following the

dissolution of Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, after taking a temporary break, he worked in the newly created Foreign Intelligence Service of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Kim died in Moscow on 12 November 1998, after being hit by a car. He was buried with full military honors at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (russian: Троекуровское кладбище, Troyekurovskoye kladbishche), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (russian: Ново-Кунцевское кладбище, Novo-Kuntsevskoye kladbishch ...

in Moscow.

Awards and decorations

*Honorary State Security Officer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Yevgeny 1932 births 1998 deaths People from Gochang County Koryo-saram military personnel KGB officers Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Soviet people of Korean descent Russian people of Korean descent Linguists from Russia Saint Petersburg State University alumni Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Road incident deaths in Russia