US Air Force Lieutenant Who Renounced U.S. Citizenship: "I Will Defend My Homeland, the UK"

Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony of 190 Cadets at the Air Force Academy

On the 8th, cadets who renounced their U.S. citizenship and entered the Korea Air Force Academy as Koreans were commissioned. The main figures are Second Lieutenants Kim Tae-hoon, Lee Seung-gyu, and Lee Hoon.

On this day, the Air Force announced that it held the graduation and commissioning ceremony for 190 cadets who completed the 71st cadet course at the Seongmu Parade Ground on campus. Among them, 18 were female cadets, and 4 were foreign military exchange cadets.

Second Lieutenants Lee Hoon, Lee Seung-gyu, and Kim Tae-hoon, who renounced their U.S. citizenship, enrolled in the Korea Air Force Academy, and were commissioned as Air Force officers. (From left in the photo)

Second Lieutenant Kim Tae-hoon, commissioned on this day, said, "Although I had foreign citizenship, I have admired the Republic of Korea Air Force, which protects the homeland's airspace and develops day by day, since my school days," adding, "I will continue to strive to contribute to the development of the Air Force as an honorable Air Force officer."

The graduates completed four years of intensive military training, life education, and degree education, earning a Bachelor of Military Science along with Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Engineering degrees according to their majors. They also underwent aerospace-specialized education introduced in 2017 to nurture talents for the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and the space age.

Second Lieutenant Song Kyung-soo, who achieved the highest overall score, received the Presidential Award. Nine cadets received honors, including Second Lieutenant Kim Tae-hoon and Second Lieutenant Kim Song-hyun, who were awarded the Prime Minister's Award and the Minister of National Defense Award, respectively.

There are also newly commissioned second lieutenants who pledged to protect the airspace following their fathers or older brothers, known as the ‘Boramae family,’ and those who chose the Air Force path after renouncing foreign nationality. Second Lieutenant Kim Jae-young was commissioned following his father, retired Lieutenant Colonel Kim Jong-gyu (38th class of the Air Force Academy), who protected the airspace flying the F-5E/F and retired in 2006. Second Lieutenant Lee Chae-won is the younger sibling of Captain Lee Junho (67th class of the Air Force Academy), an F-15K pilot.

Several officers with exceptional expertise in the aerospace field were also produced.

Second Lieutenant Lee Hong-gi received the top prize in the beginner category at the 2021 Korea Robot Aircraft Competition with an aircraft he personally built. Second Lieutenant Shim Jae-sung co-authored a paper titled “Research on Hub and Spoke Control Algorithm for Commercialization of Drone Delivery in Urban Areas” with him, winning the Best Paper Award at the 2022 Spring Conference of the Korean Logistics Association.

This graduation ceremony was held as a unit open event for the first time in four years due to the easing of COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, with about 1,600 attendees including family, acquaintances, and guests. To mark the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance, congratulatory video messages from key U.S. Air Force commanders such as the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, the Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the Commander of the U.S. 7th Air Force were also screened.