Lew Byong-hion

Lew Byong-hion was a career soldier before becoming an ambassador. Commissioned after graduating from the Korean Military Academy in 1948, he also studied at the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in 1955. He became the first Korean deputy commander of the Combined Forces Command in November 1978 and chaired South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff from December 1979 to May 1981. ^{1, 2}

Lew presented his credentials to Ronald Reagan on September 21, 1981, succeeding Kim Yong-shik. His prepared remarks connected the wartime alliance with Korea's industrial development and argued that peace on the peninsula was integral to East Asian security. The American briefing for the ceremony placed his arrival within the Reagan administration's renewed assurances that it would retain ground forces in Korea and work with Seoul to improve the military balance. ²

On his death in May 2020, the Combined Forces Command identified his work in establishing the command as a foundational contribution to the alliance. American officials described US history as one of his interests. ^{1, 2}