Korea on the BRINK on the BRINK from the "12/12 Incident" to the Kwangju Uprising, 1979-1980
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~~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~i i¸~¸i¸i¸¸ i¸~¸¸¸ ~ ,~o~, '~i'i~i!iii!il ¸!,ii~i!!i ~iiii~¸¸ L ! o S ~,~,s~i~iii~'~i~"~'~~i~i~!~'~i~i~!'~i~'~'~'~'~"!i®i ~ "~ ~ '~'~"~ ........ S iii ¸ COVER FHOTOS: ~'~4dktng the demilitarized zone, January I981, and q(ficial ceremony changing I Corps Group (ROK/L:.S.) to Combined Fiehl At'my (ROK/L:.S.), :\4arch 1980. Korea ON THE BRINK ON THE BRINK From the "12/12 Incident" to the Kwangju Uprising, 1979-1980 by John A. Wickham NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. 1999 The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) is a major component of the National Defense University (NDU), which operates under the supervision of the Presi- dent of NDU. It conducts strategic studies for the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and unified commanders in chief; supports national strategic compo- nents of NDU academic programs; and provides outreach to other governmental agencies and the broader national security community. The Publication Directorate of INSS publishes books, monographs, reports, and occasional papers on national security strategy, defense policy, and national military strat- egy through NDU Press that reflects the output of NDU research and academic programs. In addition, it produces the INSS Strategic Assessment and other work approved by the President of NDU, as well as Joint Force Quarterly, a professional military journal pub- lished for the Chairman. Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense, or any other U.S. Government agency. Cleared for public release; distribution unlimited. Portions of this book may be quoted or reprinted without permission, provided that a standard source credit line is included. NDU Press would appreciate a courtesy copy of reprints or reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData Wickham, John Adams, 1928- Korea on the Brink: From the "12/12 Incident" to the Kwangju Uprising, 1979-1980 / John A. Wickham, Jr. p.cm. ISBN 1-57906-023-4 1. Korea (South)--Politics and Government-1960-1988. 2. United States--For- eign Relations--Korea (South) 3. Korea (South)--Foreign Relations--United States. 4. United States--Foreign Relations-1977-1981.5. Wickham, John Adams, 1928- I. Title. DS922.35 .W53 1999 951.9504'3--dc21 99-16996 CIP First Printing, December 1999 NDU Press publications are sold by the U.S. Government Printing Office. For order- ing information, call (202) 512-1800 or write to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. For GPO publications on-line access their web site at: htlp://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/sale.html. For current publications of the Institute for National Strategic Studies, consult the National Defense University web site at: http://www.ndu.edu. Contents Foreword by Richard Holbrooke ............. xi Preface ................................... xv Chapter One Death of a President ....................... 3 Setting the Stage--Initial U.S. Response--Intelligence Director as Assassin--Chun and the Road to Power--Assessing the Role of Commander in Chief Chapter Two Aftermath of the Assassination .............. 27 Return to Seoul--The North Korean Response---Chun Takes Charge of the Investigation--Coordinating the In-Country Response--- The Investigators Report--A Meeting with the Minister--Visiting the Troops--Calm Before the Storm Chapter Three The "12/12 Incident" ....................... 53 Chun's Secret Meeting--Events in the Bunker and at the Ministry of Defense--Power Consolidation and American Appeasement--The Birthday Card---Glcysteem Meets with Chun-----An Insightful Discussion vii viii KOREA ON THE BRINK Chapter Four The Struggle for Dominance ................ 77 A Countercoup Declined--Chun Restricts Contacts with U.S. Officials-- Tactical Seminars on Korean Defense--/vleeting the New Army Chief-- Discussions at the Ministry--Thursday Morning Golf Club--- North Korean Infiltrators Chapter Five American Reprise, Korean Influence ......... 93 Assessing the Coup--A Stray Helicopter---:The Mun Talks Chapter Six Maneuvering Toward the Presidency ......... 109 Korean Army lvlorale--Meeting with Chun--The Iviagruder/Kim Memo-- Another Meeting with Chun--Chun Takes Control of KCIA Chapter Seven The Kwangju Tragedy ...................... 127 Full Martial Law Imposed--Fighting Reported--Efforts to Defuse the Crisis--Good News Before Bad--Preliminary Assessment--The Bad News--Wrapping up the Tragedy-- The Special Committee Chapter Eight Chun and the Presidency ................... 151 Breakfast with Chun--lviartial Law and Censorship--Media Troubles-- In Limbo--Return to Seoul--A Visit with Roh--The Blue House Chapter Nine Reflections ............................... 175 Epilogue ................................. 185 CONTENTS ix Appendix: United States Government Statement on the Events in Kwangju, Republic of Korea, in May 1980 ............. 193 Korean Personalities ....................... 229 Glossary .................................. 233 Index .................................... 235 This book is dedicated to the memory o/" James H. Hausman Awarded a battlefield commission during World War II, the late Lieutenant Colonel lames H. Hausman, USA (Ret.), served in Europe until he was reassigned as one of the first members of the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) in 1946. Long before the Army established the foreign area specialist program, Jim dedicated himself to becoming an expert on Korean affairs. He was the architect of the Republic of Korea army and over the years nurtured enduring friendships and trust with generations of South Korean officers, many' of whom rose to senior leadership positions within the armed forces as well as in government and indus- try. During the Korean War he fought alongside the Korean forces that he had helped to create. Jim later retired to accept an appointment as special assistant for policy" and intelligence to the Commander in Chief, United Nations Forces, and ROK-U.S. Combined Forces. His service in Korea spanned more than forty years, longer than any, other U.S. military, official. Senior American and Korean leaders-- including virtually every CINC and ambassador and several South Korean presi- dents-revered Jim Hausman as a distinguished soldier and civil servant, as well as a valued adviser who dedicated his life to strengthening the bonds of friendship and security, between the United States and Korea. Illustrations Charts 1. Peacetime Command Relationships, 1974-1980 .............. 21 2. Major South Korean Military Commands, 1979-1980 ......... 66 Maps 1. Central Seoul ........................................... 10 2. Yongsan Main and South Posts ............................ 52 3. The Defenses of South Korea .............................. 80 4. Korean Peninsula ....................................... 126 Photographs Park Chung-hee, David Jones, and Maurice Weisner ............. 5 Rhu Byong-hyun .......................................... 42 On the demilitarized zone ................................... 44 Choi Kyu-ha and Robert Long ............................... 50 Kim Dae-jung ............................................. 91 Joint Chiefs of Staffand Commanders in Chief ................. 161 Caspar Weinberger ......................................... 168 Chun Doo-hwan, Richard Walker, and Kim Yoon-ho ............ 171 William Gleysteen ......................................... 180 Robert Long, Kim Yoon-ho, and Robert Sennewald .............. 181 On the demilitarized zone ................................... 187 X Foreword by Richard Holbrooke ohn Wickham is my friend, the sort of friend with whom an unbreak- able bond is forged in a period of extreme testing, when one s true T measure is taken General Colin Powell, who in his autobiography J- " c~ ,, twice refers to General Wickham as my mentor, describes John as every inch a soldier. But John also brought other great skills to his career as a sol- dier. Korea on the Brink will serve as a valuable politico-military case study for students attending our war colleges, as well as an important resource for serious scholars pursuing research on a particularly eventful period in recent Korean history. In the fall of 1979, the assassination of South Korea's President Park Chung-hee, and the events that followed, created a difficult dilemma for America. Our overriding policy objective, of course, was to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, as we had been doing ever since the 1953 armistice. Combined forces of the U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) continued to face a hostile and dangerous North Korea. Moreover, our intelligence concluded in 1979 that the North's military forces appeared to be far stronger than previously estimated. These forces, deployed in forward positions along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) just 30 miles from Seoul, could attack with only a few hours of warning. Con- sequently, the threat of renewed hostilities could not be disregarded. With 40,000 American troops in Korea, their safety and ability to deter had to be our first priority. At the same time another key policy objective of the United States was to foster democracy, economic development, human rights, and the rule of law in South Korea. With Park's death these goals seemed to be threatened. Internal unrest in the South, renewed tension with the North, and a sudden eco- nomic downturn in South Korea combined to confront