Commissioning Ceremony for 2,776 Second Lieutenants of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps
A total of 2,776 ROTC officers were commissioned in the Republic of Korea. Among them, 362 are female officers, accounting for 13% of the commissioned officers.
According to the military on the 28th, 2,776 officers were commissioned as second lieutenants at the Army Cadet Military School in Goesan, Chungbuk. By branch, the Army commissioned 2,452, the Navy 96, the Air Force 142, and the Marine Corps 86 second lieutenants. The newly commissioned second lieutenants were selected as officer candidates during their first and second years at 118 university ROTC units nationwide, undergoing major education, military training, and comprehensive commissioning evaluations.
The Presidential Award was given to Second Lieutenants Han Jeong-ho (Hallym University, pictured) from the Army, Oh Ji-yoon (Pukyong National University) from the Navy, and Noh Gyun-ho (Korea National University of Transportation) from the Air Force. Second Lieutenant Han Jeong-ho expressed, "I am happy and honored to receive such a prestigious award at the honorable moment of commissioning as an officer. I will serve the nation and its people with pride and passion as an officer of the Republic of Korea Army."
Many commissioned officers continued their service in the same company, bringing honor to their families.
Second Lieutenant Lee Jun-hee of the Army was commissioned following his grandfather, who was a 7th ROTC class officer, and his father, a 33rd ROTC class officer. Notably, all five brothers of his grandfather graduated from Chungbuk National University ROTC, making Lee the 10th officer in his family. He said, "My five grandfathers proudly said, 'If our family gathers, we could form a brigade.' I will be a role model to those around me with the pride of being the 10th commissioned officer in my family."
Second Lieutenant Park Jong-ho of the Army, grandson of Korean War veterans on both paternal and maternal sides, was previously accepted into ROTC but could not join due to an accident. After rehabilitation and reapplying, he was commissioned in the 62nd class, joining his father from the 30th class and younger brother from the 60th class to form a 'three-generation ROTC officer family.' Second Lieutenant Shin Min-gyu followed in the footsteps of his grandfather from the 3rd ROTC class, father from the 30th, and uncle from the 33rd class.
Second Lieutenant Bae Jin-young of the Air Force formed a 'tri-service ROTC officer family' with his father from the Army ROTC and older brother from the Navy ROTC. Second Lieutenant Jang Se-min of the Army is the grandson of the late Brigadier General Jang Ta-gwan, who participated in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and was awarded the Eulji Military Merit Medal and the U.S. Silver Star Medal.
Second Lieutenants Shin Gyu-min of the Air Force and Shin Gyu-jin of the Army, identical twins, attracted attention. The elder brother, Shin Gyu-min, pledged, "I will become a proud twin officer serving the nation and its people to the best of my ability in the Air Force, while my younger brother will do so in the Army." There was also a case of renouncing U.S. citizenship to be commissioned. Second Lieutenant Kim Hyo-gil of the Army was born in Oklahoma, USA, and held U.S. citizenship but chose to protect his country by becoming an Army officer.
The newly commissioned second lieutenants will undergo branch-specific additional training courses before being assigned to frontline units.
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