Kim Hyun-chul

Kim Hyun-chul combined economic administration with a long American education and Korean independence work. Born in 1901, he taught physics before studying at Lynchburg, Columbia, and American University. He handled finances for the Korean Commission in Washington and worked for American agencies during the Second World War. Returning to Korea in 1953, he became finance minister, minister of reconstruction, and head of the Economic Planning Board. As chief of the cabinet in 1962–63, he worked on the first five year development plan and currency reform. ¹

His Washington ambassadorship included Park Chung-hee's 1965 American visit and Lyndon Johnson's 1966 visit to Korea. During a June 1966 defense meeting in Washington, Kim proposed sending Korean reservists to guard rear areas in South Vietnam, releasing combat troops for operations. Robert McNamara agreed that the proposal deserved examination. A subsequent American clarification specified that such reservists were envisaged as civilians. ^{1, 2}

After Washington, Kim chaired the May 16 Scholarship Foundation and, during the 1970s, the Constitutional Committee. He died in 1989. ¹