Lee Kwon-mu

Lee Kwon-mu (Korean: 리권무, Hanja: 李權武), also known as Yi Kwon-mu or Ri Gwon-mu (1914–1986?),[1] was a North Korean People's Army general officer during the Korean War. He commanded a division, and later a corps, on the front line of the conflict and received North Korea's two highest military honours, the Hero of the Republic and the Order of the National Flag, First Class.[2]

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.
Lee Kwon Mu
리권무
Born1914
Manchuria
Died1986?
Allegiance China
 North Korea
Service/branch Eighth Route Army
 Korean People's Army Ground Force
Years of service 1948–1959
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands heldNK 4th Division
NK I Corps
Battles/warsKorean War
AwardsHero of the Republic
Order of the National Flag, First Class
Lee Kwon Mu
Hangul
리권무
Hanja
Revised RomanizationRi Gwon-mu
McCune–ReischauerRi Kwŏnmu
South Korean spelling
Hangul
이권무
Revised RomanizationI Gwon-mu
McCune–ReischauerYi Kwŏnmu

Biography

Lee was born in Manchuria in 1914 to two Korean refugees. He joined the Chinese Communist Eighth Route Army, fighting both the Chinese Nationalists and the Imperial Japanese Army.[3] Some reports indicate he was also a Lieutenant in the Soviet Red Army during World War II and a personal friend of Kim Il-sung.[4][5] In 1948, Lee attended a military officer school in the Soviet Union.[3] Upon returning to North Korea, he was appointed chief of staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA).[4]

Korean War

Prior to the Korean War, Lee was recalled on personal order of the North Korean Premier Kim Il-sung. Kim personally gave Lee command of the newly formed 4th Division of the Korean People's Army Ground Force. As such he was made a Sojang, or Major General, in the Korean military.[4]

On June 22, 1950, Lee issued his operational order to the NK 4th Division, stating it, along with the NK 1st Division and NK 3rd Division would attack Seoul before moving further down the Uijongbu corridor. Preparations for this order were completed by midnight of June 23.[6]

On June 25, 1950, Lee subsequently led his division to the capture of Seoul in the First Battle of Seoul. He was awarded his decorations for this action. After Seoul, Lee was leading his division south when it encountered forces of Task Force Smith at Osan, defeating the US Army in its first engagement in Korea, the Battle of Osan on July 5.[7] Lee's division went on to fight the US forces back further at the Battle of Pyongtaek, Battle of Chonan, and Battle of Chochiwon. At the Battle of Taejon from July 12–20, Lee's division was pivotal in routing and defeating the US 24th Infantry Division, a feat for which it was upgraded to the status of a guards unit.[8] Lee also received the Hero of the Chosun Minjujui Inmun Kongwhakuk (Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea) and the Order of the National Flag, First Class for his accomplishments.[4]

Immediately thereafter, Lee's division advanced to the Pusan Perimeter, where the United Nations had established defensive positions around the port city of Pusan. Lee's division confronted the US 24th Infantry Division along the Naktong River from August 5–19, the First Battle of Naktong Bulge. His division, originally numbering 7,000, was reduced to 3,500 in this fight. It was defeated and forced back across the river to rebuild.[8]

After the defeat of the North Korean forces at the Pusan Perimeter, Lee was promoted to Lieutenant General and relieved Kim Ung as the commander of the NK I Corps.[9] Under his command, the NK I Corps participated in the Chinese Third, Fourth and Fifth Phase Offensive in 1951.[10]

Later life

After the war, Lee resumed his position as the chief of staff of the KPA. By 1959, however, Kim Il-sung systematically purged all rivals within the Soviet and Chinese factions of the KPA, and Lee was removed from his position.[11] He disappeared from public life soon after his removal.[5]


Notes
  1. Edwards 2006, p. 476
  2. Fehrenbach 2001, p. 139
  3. Fehrenbach 2001, p. 121
  4. Appleman 1998, p. 293
  5. Leckie 1996, p. 109
  6. Appleman 1998, p. 20
  7. Alexander 2003, p. 60
  8. Fehrenbach 2001, p. 134
  9. KPA I Army Corps, Alexandria, VA: GlobalSecurity.org, retrieved 2010-12-01
  10. Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, pp. 369, 373, 378.
  11. Alagappa 2001, p. 363

References
  • Alagappa, Muthiah (2001), Coercion and Governance: the Declining Political Role of the Military in Asia, Stanford University Press, ISBN 978-0-8047-4227-6
  • Alexander, Bevin (2003), Korea: The First War We Lost, Hippocrene Books, ISBN 978-0-7818-1019-7
  • Appleman, Roy E. (1998), South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu: United States Army in the Korean War, Department of the Army, ISBN 978-0-16-001918-0
  • Chinese Military Science Academy (2000), History of War to Resist America and Aid Korea (抗美援朝战争史) (in Chinese), Volume II, Beijing: Chinese Military Science Academy Publishing House, ISBN 7-80137-390-1
  • Edwards, Paul M. (2006), Korean War Almanac, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-0-8160-6037-5
  • Fehrenbach, T.R. (2001), This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History – Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, Potomac Books Inc., ISBN 978-1-57488-334-3
  • Leckie, Robert (1996), Conflict: The History Of The Korean War, 1950-1953, Da Capo Press, ISBN 978-0-306-80716-9
Military offices
Preceded by
Kim Kwang-hyop		 Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army
September 1957-July 1959		 Succeeded by
Kim Chang-bong
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