[Exclusive] Shin Sang-beom, Retired Major General, Appointed as Head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration

All Heads of the Three Major Defense Industry Agencies Including DAPA and ADD Are Military Veterans

Shin Sang-beom, a retired Army Major General (pictured), has been appointed as the new president of the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (hereinafter referred to as DATQ). With this appointment, all three heads of major defense-related government agencies, including the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), are now held by retired military officers.

Shin Sang-beom, retired Army Major General

On the 23rd, a government official stated, “Although internal candidates such as Choi Jung-hwan, senior researcher, and Lee Chang-woo, director of the DATQ headquarters, were considered for the DATQ president position, retired Major General Shin (Korea Military Academy Class 41) has been appointed, and the inauguration ceremony is scheduled for the 25th.”

The current DATQ president, Heo Geon-young, completed his three-year term in April 2024 after taking office in April 2021. The appointment of a new head after a three-month vacancy is seen by some as a cautious response to recent consecutive appointments of retired military officers. In February, Seok Jong-geon (KMA Class 45) was appointed as the head of DAPA, and in April, Lee Geon-wan (Korea Air Force Academy Class 32) took office as the director of ADD. Recently, Kim Jung-soo, a retired Lieutenant General and former superintendent of the Korea Military Academy, was appointed as the president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), which is under the Ministry of National Defense.

The Korea Veterans Health Service has been vacant for a year since Chairman Gam Shin stepped down in July last year. Following the April 10 general election, there is speculation that a retired military officer who lost in the party primary or the general election might be appointed to this position.