[Profile] Kim Byung-joo, Supreme Council Member... Former ROK-US Combined Forces Vice Commander and 'Security Expert'

New Supreme Council Member Kim Byung-joo is a four-star general turned lawmaker. He is a former Deputy Commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command and an expert in defense and security on the National Assembly's National Defense Committee.

After graduating from the Korea Military Academy (Class of 40), Kim served in key positions including Commander of the 30th Mechanized Infantry Division, Missile Commanding General, Commander of the 3rd Army Corps, and Deputy Commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command before retiring in April 2019.

He then joined the Democratic Party ahead of the 2020 21st general election and entered the National Assembly as a proportional representative. He subsequently served as the Democratic Party’s Policy Committee Senior Deputy Chair and Deputy Floor Leader. In the 22nd general election, he defeated former lawmaker Kim Han-jung, a non-Li Jae-myung faction member, and ran as the candidate for Namyangju-si Eul, Gyeonggi Province, winning re-election.

Kim proposed the Defense Safety Basic Act, which stipulates regulations to prevent safety accidents within the military, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of Sergeant Cha Sang-byeong. He has served on the National Defense Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, and is currently the opposition party’s ranking member on the National Defense Committee.

▲ Yecheon, Gyeongbuk (1962) ▲ Korea Military Academy Class of 40 ▲ Deputy Commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (General) ▲ 21st National Assembly Member (Proportional) ▲ Democratic Party Policy Committee Senior Deputy Chair ▲ Democratic Party Deputy Floor Leader ▲ 22nd National Assembly Member

Kim Byung-joo, a candidate for the Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering his policy speech at the 1st Regular National Party Members' Convention of the Democratic Party of Korea held at KSPO Dome, Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 18th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@