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Jang Tae-wan (Korean: 장태완; Hanja: 張泰玩, 13 September 1931 – 26 July 2010) was an army general and politician of South Korea.
| Jang Tae-wan | |
| Hangul | 장태완 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 張泰玩 |
| Revised Romanization | Jang Taewon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chang Taewan |
Jang was the commander of the Capital Garrison Command (now Capital Defense Command) during the Coup d'état of December Twelfth. The Hanahoe, the group of South Korean military officers who were the instigators of the coup d'état, tried to appease Jang. However, the staunch Jang rejected it. Instead, Jang cursed and swore at them strongly, "You god damn rebels! Do not move and stay there! I will drive a tank right now and blow your heads away!"(Korean: 야, 이 반란군 놈의 새끼들아. 너희들 거기 꼼짝말고 있어. 내가 지금 전차를 몰고가서 네 놈들의 머리통을 다날려버리겠어!), and fought against the rebel troops. However he was defeated, being betrayed by his subordinates.[1]
Jang was imprisoned and tortured while his son, a student of Korea's Top Ranked Seoul National University, died under suspicious circumstances and was reputedly murdered by government agents; Jang's father starved himself to death.[2]
In later years, he served as the President of Koscom (Korea Securities Computer Corporation), and as President of the Korean Veterans Association.
Jang Tae-Wan died in 2010 and was buried with full honors in the Generals' section of Daejeon National Cemetery. Many Korean people value him as a symbol of a true soldier, who had stood against coup d´état.[3]
The 2023 South Korean movie 12.12: The Day has a fictional commander modeled after him named Lee Tae-shin, who fights against the coup attempt in 1979.[4]
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