He tried to stop the December 12 military rebellion until the end.
General Jang Tae-wan's memoirs republished!

On December 12, 1979, the Hanahoe, which had been strengthening its power amidst the chaos caused by the assassination of President Park Chung-hee on October 26, staged a coup.
Although there were many attempts to restrain the Hanahoe, the coup eventually occurred, and numerous soldiers, including Chun Doo-hwan, advanced on the capital city of Seoul.
Even in the face of overwhelmingly unfavorable circumstances, General Jang Tae-wan, who was the commander of the Capital Defense Command, attempted to suppress the rebellion by mobilizing every means at his disposal, but in the end, Seoul and the Republic of Korea fell into their hands.

“With a heart of atonement, I have maintained silence throughout the years.” General Jang Tae-wan’s memoir, “The December 12 Coup and I,” begins with this sentence.
General Jang Tae-wan risked his life to prevent the coup, but he felt guilty for a long time about the failure of the suppression operation.
Although General Jang Tae-wan's story has been covered in various media, not much has been said about his actual life and spirit.
This book is a reissue of 'The 12,12 Coup and Me', which was published in 1993 and then went out of print. It has undergone spelling corrections and proofreading to improve readability.
However, sentences that were intended to convey the author's intention as is were used as is in the original text.

More than anyone else, I have longed for a fair investigation into the December 12 military rebellion, which tarnished the honor of the military, which is more precious than life itself, completely trampled upon its legitimacy, command system, and discipline, and even caused a disruption of the national constitution, and for the perpetrators to be punished.

On February 18, 1963, after the declaration of the return of Chairman Park Chung-hee to power and the transfer of power to the civilian government, the 11th class of graduates, led by Chun Doo-hwan, who had begun to receive special treatment and protection from Chairman Park, formed the Hanahoe with the ambition that graduates of the regular military academy would become the pillars of the military in the future.

--- p.25

The Yun Pil-yong case was a case where he was convicted of operating a private organization within the military and abusing his power to commit various corruption and injustices. I simply cannot understand how the key figures in that private organization were able to escape the eye of the storm and remain unharmed.

--- p.37

I woke up around 3:00 a.m. on October 27, 1979, to the loud ringing of the phone.
I picked up the receiver and saw that it was the chief of staff of the Army Headquarters Training Staff Office.
“Sir! A level 2 emergency alert has been issued.
“You must come in quickly.”
--- p.55

I came home late at night and went to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep.
The position of Commander of the Capital Defense Command is coveted by many generals, so I couldn't help but be taken aback when it came to me, a position I had never dreamed of.

--- p.69

There is an issue that needs to be addressed here.
It was on December 5th that Secretary Heo Hwa-pyeong of the Security Command came to me with money for kimchi and said that General Chun Doo-hwan would prepare a meal to celebrate my appointment as Commander of the Capital Defense Command. It was on December 8th that Colonel Cho Hong came to me and told me that he would invite me to a unity dinner at 6:30 PM on December 12th.

--- p.80

It was 8 p.m. when I arrived at the Capital Defense Command.
As soon as I got out of the car, I headed straight to the underground situation room.
The instructions I gave in the car were already in progress.
However, the only subordinate unit commander waiting in the situation room was Hwang Dong-hwan, the commander of the air defense artillery unit.

--- p.103

The next morning, Lieutenant Colonel Shin received a secret order from Chun Doo-hwan and took the lead in arresting the Army Headquarters leaders who had gathered at the Suyeongsa.

--- p.110

“General Jang! Don’t be so excited and come here.
“Come here and talk to us.” The moment I heard that, I was so angry that I couldn’t stand it.
The curse words I had been holding back came out of my mouth.

--- p.126

Since it was only a matter of time before they would enter Seoul, regardless of which bridge they would use, I asked Park Dong-won (14th class of the Korea Military Academy), Chief of Operations, to review which bridge they would use.

--- p.144

I've been making calls here and there asking for troop support.
The commanders who initially agreed to provide troop support changed their attitude as time passed, making excuses that there were no orders from their superiors and saying it was difficult.

--- p.161

“First, observation fire must be conducted, but then not only will the Gwanghwamun area be reduced to rubble, but the civilian casualties will be unspeakably large.
So, shelling is impossible, and instead, we will prepare flares.” In this situation, the artillery unit’s entry into Seoul also ended in failure.

--- p.171

Just after I gave up on the final assault on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and returned to my office, I received a call from the Minister of National Defense, Roh Jae-hyun, whom I had been desperately searching for.
It was around 3:00 AM on December 13th.
It was around the time when Seoul was already completely under the control of rebel forces.
--- p.204

The December 12 military rebellion was not an accidental event.
As I have said repeatedly, it was a meticulously planned coup led by some political military figures centered around the Hanahoe, with the aim of usurping power long ago.

Those who rose to power in this military coup first began to replace the military leadership in order to seize military power.

--- p.214

I took a few puffs of a cigarette in my mouth and my head started spinning and I felt dizzy.
It was a natural thing.
I quit smoking four years ago, and I had a nightmare last night, using all my strength, so it wasn't surprising that I was feeling dizzy.

--- p.243

Since I was detained in the Seobingo Lost and Foundry, the Security Command has had two private soldiers stationed at my house on a weekly basis, monitoring the daily movements of people entering and leaving the house and their families day and night and reporting to the Security Command.

--- p.264

In the meantime, darkness began to fall.
The company commander, who was riding in a jeep, tried to take me to the company headquarters, so I had no choice but to show him my ID.
--- p.291

Although I am still searching for the whereabouts of the unidentified remains, I hold individual memorial services once a year to atone for the spirits of the confirmed dead. On Memorial Day, I visit the national cemetery without fail, visit the graves of the 37 dead, and offer a chrysanthemum to the spirits.

--- p.318

Sometimes, when I had post-operative complications, it was very helpful to go there.
However, in November 1991, four years after the surgery, another vascular disease called an aortic aneurysm occurred.
Again with the help of my sister, I returned to St. Vincent's Hospital in Los Angeles to have surgery with Dr. Yokoyama, who had previously performed my heart surgery.

--- p.337