ROTC Commissioning Ceremony Produces 2,758 Second Lieutenants
Daughter of West Sea Hero, Jo Sieun, Commissioned as Navy Officer
The daughter of a West Sea hero who died in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong in 2002 has become a naval second lieutenant, continuing the family legacy.
On the 28th of last month, the ROTC commissioning ceremony was held at the Army Cadet Military Academy in Goesan, Chungbuk. On this day, 2,758 second lieutenants from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps were commissioned.
ROTC cadets were selected as officer candidates during their first and second years at 119 four-year universities nationwide where ROTC units are established. They then underwent two years of military training and a comprehensive evaluation before commissioning.
Specifically, 2,450 were commissioned into the Army, 84 into the Navy, 146 into the Air Force, and 78 into the Marine Corps. The total number of female officers was 402.
Among the female officers was Navy Second Lieutenant Jo Si-eun (Pukyong National University, 22), the daughter of the late Sergeant Jo Cheon-hyeong, a West Sea hero. The late Sergeant Jo died fighting against North Korean forces as the Vulcan gunner on the Chamsuri 357 patrol boat during the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong in 2002. At that time, Second Lieutenant Jo was only four months old.
Second Lieutenant Jo said, "I nurtured my dream of joining the Navy with the desire to become a cool soldier like my father," adding, "As a proud naval officer, I will protect the seas of our country that my father defended without giving up."
On the 28th, at the 2025 Republic of Korea ROTC Officer Commissioning Ceremony, the newly commissioned second lieutenants and Kim Seon-ho, Acting Minister of National Defense, are taking a commemorative photo. [Image source: Provided by the Army]
In addition to Second Lieutenant Jo, others continuing the family tradition included Army Second Lieutenant Choi Ji-hoon (Hansung University, 22), whose father and three siblings are all ROTC officers, and Army Second Lieutenant Lee Yu-min (Hongik University, 22), whose grandfather was a first-generation ROTC officer and father a 29th-generation officer.
In the case of Army Second Lieutenant Yeon Ji-hyeop (Seoul National University, 24), he completed his service as a Marine Corps enlisted soldier before commissioning as an ROTC officer, thus holding two military service numbers.
Meanwhile, at this commissioning ceremony, the Presidential Award was presented to Army Second Lieutenant Kim Ye-bin (Sungshin Women's University, 23), Navy Second Lieutenant Park Jong-hyuk (Pukyong National University, 22), and Air Force Second Lieutenant Park Hyung-joo (Korea National University of Transportation, 23).
The commissioned officers will begin their new officer command and staff training courses at their respective branch schools starting next month and will be assigned to field units to carry out their duties by the end of June.
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