View source for Sohn Won-yil

{{short description|South Korean admiral}}
{{other people||Son Won-il (voice actor)}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Son (Korean surname)|Sohn]]||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox Korean name/auto
| hangul  = %손원일
| hanja   = 孫元一 
| img     = Sohn Won Yil 1948.png
| caption = Sohn in 1949, during his tenure as a rear admiral.
}}
'''Sohn Won-yil''' (June 22, 1909 in [[Nampo]] {{spaced ndash}} February 15, 1980) was a South Korean naval [[vice admiral]] best known for being the first [[Chief of Naval Operations (South Korea)|Chief of Naval Operations]] (CNO) of the [[Republic of Korea Navy]]. As one of the founding members of the [[Republic of Korea Navy]], Sohn is generally regarded as the founder of the South Korean navy.<ref>[http://www.navy.mil.kr/english/pds/navyhistory/history_6.jsp The Father of the ROK Navy: The Late Admiral Sohn Won-Yil"]. <U>Republic of Korea Navy Official Website</U>. Retrieved October 12, 2008.</ref>

==Career==
[[Image:Admiral Sohn Won-il.jpg|left|thumb|ROKN CNO Read Adm. Sohn Won-yil discussing Korean War operations with Rear Adm. A.E. Smith, USN]]
Shortly after Korea was liberated from the Empire of Japan on August 15, 1945, Sohn Won-yil, a former merchant mariner and son of the independence activist [[Sohn Jung-do]],<ref>[http://ki.warmemo.co.kr:8101/warmemo/jsp/data/view.jsp?type=2&pkey=625HM00015 "손원일 중장"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011031809/http://ki.warmemo.co.kr:8101/warmemo/jsp/data/view.jsp?type=2&pkey=625HM00015 |date=2007-10-11 }}. <U>War Memorial Museum Official Website</U>. Retrieved May 2, 2007.</ref> led the Maritime Affairs Association.  The Association evolved into the Marine Defense Group on November 11, 1945 (later became Navy Foundation Day) and later became the Korean Coast Guard, which was formed in Jinhae. After the new [[Republic of Korea]] government was established on August 15, 1948, the Korean Coast Guard has formally renamed the [[Republic of Korea Navy]], and Sohn became the first Chief of Naval Operations of the ROK Navy on September 5, 1948.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060723055744/http://www.cnfk.navy.mil/history.html "Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea: The Early Years (1945 to 1957)"]. <U>Commander U.S. Naval Forces Korea, U.S. Navy Official Website</U>. Retrieved March 4, 2007.</ref>

After being relieved from the service, he was appointed as the fifth Minister of National Defense, and the first [[ambassador]] to [[West Germany]].

==Legacy==
In honor of Sohn, the ROKS ''Sohn Won-yil'' (SS 072), the first of [[Type 214 submarine|''Sohn Won-yil'' class submarines]], was commissioned in 2007, and named after him.

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011031809/http://ki.warmemo.co.kr:8101/warmemo/jsp/data/view.jsp?type=2&pkey=625HM00015 Biography at the War Memorial Korea official website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sohn, Won-yil}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1980 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Nampo]]
[[Category:Chiefs of Naval Operations (South Korea)]]
[[Category:National defense ministers of South Korea]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of South Korea to West Germany]]
[[Category:South Korean people of North Korean origin]]
[[Category:Burials at Seoul National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Miryang Son clan|Won-yil]]

{{Korea-bio-stub}}