[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] The First '★★★★' President Yoon Will Choose

On the 7th, when the Ministry of National Defense officially began preparations for the move, the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, were seen. Following the approval of the supplementary budget expenditure plan for relocating the presidential office at the temporary Cabinet meeting held the day before, the Ministry of National Defense plans to sign a formal contract with a professional moving company as early as this day and start relocating offices currently housed in the main building of the headquarters to nearby buildings, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff building and other on- and off-base facilities, by department and bureau. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] With Lee Jong-seop, the Minister of National Defense in the first cabinet of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, taking his position, attention is focused on the appointment of general officers at the four-star level within the military. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chief of Staff of the Army, whose terms are approaching expiration, are the main subjects of the first half personnel changes. The key question is which candidate can interpret the hardline North Korea policy stance that President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared since his presidential campaign and align with the new government's direction.

Currently, the promotion candidates within the military are from the 42nd, 43rd, and 44th classes of the Korea Military Academy (KMA). Typically, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is selected from already promoted four-star generals, which brings into consideration Kim Jeong-su, Commander of the 2nd Operations Command from the 42nd class, and Kim Seung-gyeom, Deputy Commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command.

The candidate mentioned for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is Kim Seung-gyeom, Deputy Commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command. Deputy Commander Kim has served as the commander of the 28th Division, deputy chief of operations at the Combined Forces Command, commander of the 3rd Corps, and deputy chief of staff of the Army. He was appointed deputy commander during the Moon Jae-in administration and emphasized the "transition of wartime operational control" in his inaugural speech, but ultimately did not achieve it. In March of this year, he became controversial after testing positive for COVID-19 ahead of the first half of the ROK-US combined exercises. Within the military, there is an evaluation that he does not have strong trust from juniors to the extent that he even has a nickname. He is known to be a devout Christian.

Commander Kim Jeong-su is also mentioned. He is from Muan, Jeollanam-do, and graduated from Mokpo High School in Jeollanam-do. Some view his promotion to general as possible because he is from the Honam region, but within the Army, he is regarded as a representative elite. He has served extensively in the Ministry of National Defense, Combined Forces Command, and Joint Chiefs of Staff, and is considered an operations expert within the military. During his time at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he earned strong trust within the military for his leadership in integrating the different branches. However, there is also a view that, similar to the Lee Myung-bak administration which did not favor appointing officials from the Honam region due to the diplomatic and security line being built by Lee Myung-bak appointees, he could be excluded.

The Chief of Staff of the Army is also a subject of this personnel change, with a high possibility of appointment from the 43rd class. A leading candidate is An Jun-seok, Commander of the Capital Defense Command.

He is evaluated to have led the ROK-US Combined Command Post Training (CCPT) steadily even during the COVID-19 situation. He has extensive frontline field unit experience, including serving as chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Operations Division 1, commander of the 15th Division, and commander of the 5th Corps, and is said to have excellent crisis management skills. He has a gentle personality and enjoys strong trust from subordinates within the military. However, his role as the Secretary for Defense Reform during the Moon Jae-in administration could be a burden. Especially, there was much talk inside and outside the military when he was assigned to a first-level secretary position at the Blue House immediately after serving as corps commander, which was unprecedented.

Besides Commander An, Park Jeong-hwan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the 44th class, is also mentioned as a candidate. Deputy Chief Park has served as commander of the 1st Division, deputy chief of operations at the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, commander of the 2nd Corps, and director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In an emergency briefing to the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly in March, he reported that "even if the presidential office moves to Yongsan as planned, there will be no issues with readiness," countering the Democratic Party's opposition to the move before May.

Radical personnel changes cannot be ruled out. In 2017, the Moon Jae-in administration promoted Major General Kim Yong-woo (KMA 39th class), who was head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategic Planning Division, to Lieutenant General and appointed him as Chief of Staff of the Army. This was a dramatic appointment, lowering the class by three from the 36th to the 39th class. Because of this, the 37th and 38th class generals, who were classmates of Park Geun-hye's brother Park Ji-man, chairman of EG and beneficiaries of special favors during the Park Geun-hye administration, retired from the military all at once.

Considering this, attention should also be paid to the 45th class lieutenant generals who are candidates for promotion to general. Among KMA graduates, there are An Byeong-seok, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army from Haenam, Jeollanam-do; Lee Jeong-ung, Commander of the Capital Corps; and Jeon Dong-jin, Director of Operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Commander Lee was considered a leading candidate for promotion during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations. He has served as policy advisor at the ROK-US Combined Forces Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Director Jeon has been evaluated as having excellent field operational capabilities, having served as commander of the Special Forces Airborne Brigade, commander of the 15th Division, and commander of the 3rd Corps.

There are also non-KMA graduates. Jeong Cheol-jae, Commander of the Education Command (3rd Military Academy, 23rd class), is from Muan, Jeollanam-do, and is evaluated to have excellent leadership in education and training.

Park Yang-dong, Commander of the Logistics Command, commissioned through ROTC class 26, is evaluated within the military as having a non-authoritarian and humane leadership style. He has also held influential operational command positions such as director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Operations Control Center, chief of special warfare, chief of staff of the Capital Defense Command, and director of civil-military operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During his tenure as director of civil-military operations, he oversaw the military's overseas dispatch operations and led safety missions. He is highly rated for leading the 6th Corps, which was to be merged or abolished under defense reform, without any operational gaps.

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