Meritorious Service Record

From 1937 onward, as Director of the Political Department within the Military Affairs Commission of the Chinese Nationalist Government, Chen Cheng provided substantial political, economic, and military support for Korea’s independence movement.
In the spring of 1938, the Korean National Revolutionary Party (朝鮮民族革命黨), led by Kim Won-bong (金元鳳), allied with leftist groups such as the Korean Youth Vanguard League (朝鮮靑年前衛同盟) in Wuhan, forming the Korean National Front Alliance (朝鮮民族戰線聯盟). The alliance actively engaged in anti-Japanese propaganda and sought to establish an armed resistance force, the Korean Volunteer Corps (朝鮮義勇隊). During negotiations with the Chinese Nationalist Government regarding this initiative, Chen Cheng played a key role as the principal representative of the Kuomintang.
Following the establishment of the Korean Liberation Army (KLA) in 1940, Chen Cheng facilitated military aid by providing weapons and supplies. He also ensured the safety of key figures in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, including Kim Gu (金九), and supported the military training of Korean youth.
In 1945, as the war drew to a close, Chen Cheng actively worked to transfer Korean youths who had escaped from the Japanese army into the ranks of the KLA. A document he authored in June 1945 detailed the presence of numerous Korean youths under the jurisdiction of the Political Department of the 9th Military Region Command (第九戰區司令部政治部). The report noted that these individuals were eager to relocate to Chongqing and join the Korean independence movement.
Chen Cheng relayed Kim Gu’s request, stating:
"We intend to gather and train these individuals, and we ask the relevant military authorities to promptly transfer these Korean youths to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. If approval is granted, the Provisional Government will request American military assistance to transport them to Chongqing by air, where they will receive formal training."
The South Korean government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Presidential Medal) in 1966.