"Opposing USFK Withdrawal" Statue of US General to Be Erected

Late General John Singlaub
Opposed and Was Forced to Retire
70th Anniversary of ROK-US Alliance Next Year
Consideration of Erecting a Statue in Korea

General John Singlaub

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] A statue of the late John Singlaub, a retired U.S. Army Reserve Major General who was forcibly retired after opposing the withdrawal plan of U.S. Forces Korea, is expected to be erected in Korea next year, marking the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

According to the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation on the 5th, the foundation has decided to promote the establishment of General Singlaub's statue in Korea in cooperation with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the bereaved family. Although the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has not yet received a specific proposal or formulated a plan, it is known to be positively considering the erection of General Singlaub's statue as next year marks the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

General Singlaub was a Korean War veteran and was forcibly retired after opposing the withdrawal plan of U.S. Forces Korea by then-President Jimmy Carter in 1977, when he was recalled to the United States.

He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1943 during World War II, then enlisted as a second lieutenant and served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the Army Special Forces known as the "Green Berets," and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He also worked at the CIA Seoul branch established in 1949 and directly commanded the battlefield as the battalion commander of the Kimhwa area during the Korean War.

In May 1977, while serving as the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Command in Korea, he strongly criticized President Carter's plan to withdraw U.S. Forces Korea within five years in an interview with The Washington Post (WP), calling it a misjudgment leading to the path of war, and was eventually forced to retire from the military.

There is a well-known anecdote that when someone said, "If you had not opposed the withdrawal plan of U.S. Forces Korea at that time, you might have earned more stars," he replied, "If I think of exchanging my stars for the lives of millions, what could be more rewarding than that?"

General Singlaub passed away at the age of 100 on January 29 this year (local time) at his home in Tennessee, USA. President Yoon Suk-yeol, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, and other top military officials sent condolence messages at the burial ceremony held last month at Arlington National Cemetery in the United States, mourning the death of the general who protected the South Korea-U.S. alliance.