President Moon: "Respecting the ROK-US Alliance, Stronger Defense through Wartime Operational Control Transfer"

Revealed at Military General Promotion and Assignment Ceremony
"Military Must Prepare for Changing Concepts of War"

President Moon Jae-in is attaching a sash to the Samjeong Sword after receiving the duty report from Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin at the Blue House on the morning of the 23rd. The sash is a flag made of string, embroidered with the general's position, name, appointment date, and the name of the president at the time of the award.

President Moon Jae-in said on the 23rd, "The most fundamental mission of the military is to establish a strong defense," adding that one of the strategies of the Korean government to achieve this is "to transfer wartime operational control while respecting the ROK-US alliance."

After the promotion and appointment reporting ceremony for military generals held at the Blue House on the same day, President Moon said during the subsequent conversation, "Defense capability should serve as a safety net to prevent a return to war."

President Moon outlined three strategies of the government to build stronger defense capabilities. The first is "to lead the way in adopting new technologies and new equipment in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and in the changing concept of warfare." The second is emphasizing "the unwavering ROK-US alliance," and the third is mentioning the transfer of wartime operational control.

President Moon said, "The goal of strong defense capability is, naturally, to win in times of war and to protect and further develop peace in times of peace." He added, "The era of peace is not a straight path; progress is sometimes followed by setbacks, pauses, or even seeming dead ends."

President Moon asked to keep in mind that "in line with the three development strategies, personnel appointments were made from the perspective of the ability to quickly understand rapid changes and apply them to the military to make the military organization more flexible." He encouraged those attending the conversation by saying, "Expectations are very high. I believe you will perform well to meet those expectations."

President Moon Jae-in is attending the military general promotion and assignment reporting ceremony at the Blue House on the morning of the 23rd. From the left, Noh Young-min, Chief of Presidential Staff; President Moon; Suh Hoon, Director of the National Security Office; and Suh Wook, Minister of National Defense.

At the promotion and appointment reporting ceremony for military generals, President Moon received the appointment report from General Won In-chul, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and awarded a Samjeonggeom sword to the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In addition to General Won, President Moon also received appointment reports from General Nam Young-shin, Chief of Staff of the Army; General Lee Seong-yong, Chief of Staff of the Air Force; Lieutenant General Kim Seung-gyeom, Deputy Commander of the Combined Forces Command; Lieutenant General Kim Jeong-su, Commander of the 2nd Operations Command of the Army; and Lieutenant General Ahn Jun-seok, Commander of the Ground Operations Command.

At this occasion, President Moon also expressed his gratitude for the military and soldiers' support to civilians.

President Moon said, "Our military has always stood with the people during disasters and calamities," adding, "The people were able to quickly overcome the difficulties of disasters and calamities thanks to the military's assistance." He further said, "I would like to express my special thanks to the military," and asked, "Please be sure to convey my gratitude to the soldiers as well."

He mentioned, "During last year's wildfires in Gangwon Province, and this year's heavy rains and typhoons, the military played a significant role," and "During the COVID-19 situation, the military sent nursing personnel for quarantine and prevention efforts and provided military hospital facilities for infected patients."

President Moon said, "If military medical services had not contributed, it would have been very difficult to overcome the COVID-19 crisis with only our public medical capabilities," adding, "Thanks to them, we are currently overcoming COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.