Participation and Activities of the Korean Liberation Army after Liberation

The Korean Liberation Army had a strong sense of history and extraordinary pride. One was that it had a strong sense of history to inherit the spirit of the righteous army at the end of the Korean Empire and the spirit of the military of the disbanded soldiers who participated in the righteous army war. The other was that it valued the experiences of the armed struggle against Japanese imperialism of the independence forces in Manchuria and had strong pride and pride as a military force of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which was established as a democratic republic based on national sovereignty. Based on this sense of history and pride, the former members of the Liberation Army had a sense of mission to be the center of the liberated homeland. However, the reality of their liberated homeland was different from what they thought. This is because the United States and the Soviet Union divided and occupied the two Koreas along the 38th parallel and implemented military governments. In particular, the United States promulgated the 'unitary government theory of the US military government' while implementing the 'state of status quo policy' and did not recognize the provisional government and the Liberation Army. For this reason, the Liberation Army was only able to return to its individual status after May 1946. Moreover, by the time the Liberation Army returned to Korea, the US military government had already started the founding work. As a result, members of the Liberation Army either hesitated or showed a lukewarm attitude to participate in the US military government-led founding work. There was an opportunity to change this atmosphere. First, Yoo Dong-yeol, a former chief of staff of the Liberation Army, was appointed as the head of the U.S. Military Government's defense department, followed by Song Ho-sung, a former senior staff member of the Liberation Army Command, as the commander of the Chosun Guard. This led to the participation of the establishment of the army from the Korean Liberation Army. Twenty-nine people from the Korean Liberation Army entered the Joseon Security Academy one after another and entered the military department. They served as front-line commanders of each brigade of the Joseon Guard and became involved in the founding of the US military during the US military government. In particular, in August 1948, the Republic of Korea government was established and the Armed Forces were officially launched, and Lee Beom- seok, a former commander of the 2nd District of the Korean Liberation Army, and Choi Yong-deok, a former general affairs minister of the General Command of the Korean Liberation Army, were inaugurated as the first defense minister and vice minister. More than 70 former members of the Korean Liberation Army were appointed to the Korea Military Academy one after another or through various channels. They played key roles in the creation of the Navy and Air Force as well as the Army. In the early days of the founding of the army, former members of the Liberation Army were appointed and active as front-line commanders at the division level, including the commander of each division and the commander of the Capital Security Command. In particular, he was in charge of each military academy and military educational institution, including the Korea Military Academy, and took the lead in fostering military officials and military personnel and establishing national legitimacy. He participated in the Korean War and prevented the North Korean army from moving south, took the lead in the North Korean advance after the successful Incheon Landing Operation, and participated in retreat operations after the Chinese military intervention, making considerable sacrifices.