"Overcoming the 12·3 Crisis and Embracing Diversity"
Non-Academy Officers on the Rise... Academy to Non-Academy Ratio Now 1.8:1
On November 13, the government reshuffled 20 lieutenant generals in the military, marking the largest-scale personnel change in the past decade. This move aims to overcome the 12·3 Martial Law incident and rebuild the military as a force for the people.
The Ministry of National Defense announced promotions and new appointments for lieutenant generals on this day. A total of 20 officers were promoted from major general to lieutenant general: 14 from the Army, 3 from the Navy, and 3 from the Air Force. This is the largest number of such promotions in the past ten years.
In the Army, Han Kisung, Jung Yusu, Lee Sangryul, Lee Ilyong, Choi Sungjin, and Lee Imsu were promoted from major general to lieutenant general and appointed as corps commanders. Park Sungje and Uh Changjun were also promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as Special Warfare Commander and Capital Defense Commander, respectively. Kwon Hyukdong and Kang Kwanbum were promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as Missile Strategy Commander and Training Commander, respectively. Additionally, Park Chunsik was assigned as Logistics Commander, Choi Jangsik as Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Kang Hyunwoo as Director of Operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Kim Jongmuk as Chief of Staff at the Ground Operations Command.
In the Navy, Kwak Kwangsub, Park Kyubaek, and Kang Donggu were promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as Navy Deputy Chief of Staff, Superintendent of the Naval Academy, and Director of Strategic Planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively. In the Air Force, Kwon Youngmin, Kim Junho, and Koo Sangmo were promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as Training Commander, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Director of Military Support at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively.
New Special Warfare Commander, Capital Defense Commanding General, Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Navy Deputy Chief of Staff Yonhap News
Park Sungje, the new Special Warfare Commander (Army Brigadier General), is a graduate of the 17th class of the Officer Candidate School and is recognized as an expert in policy and special operations, having served in key positions such as Director of Education and Training at the Training and Doctrine Command, Commander of the 37th Division, Commander of the Cadet Military School Training Brigade, Commander of the 9th Airborne Brigade, and Director of Policy Coordination at Army Headquarters. Park previously served as acting Special Warfare Commander following the 12·3 Martial Law incident.
Uh Changjun, the new Capital Defense Commander, is a graduate of the 49th class of the Korea Military Academy and is an expert in policy planning and integrated defense operations. He has held key positions including Director of the OPCON Transition Task Force, Commander of the 17th Division, Military Advisor to the Minister of National Defense, and Chief Secretary to the Army Chief of Staff. Choi Jangsik, the new Army Deputy Chief of Staff, is a graduate of the 30th class of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and an expert in defense policy planning and force development, having served as Acting Director for Defense Innovation Planning at the Ministry of National Defense, Director of Advanced Force Planning, Commander of the Army Training Center, Commander of the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division, and Deputy Chief of Operations and Lessons Learned at Army Headquarters.
Kwak Kwangsub, the new Navy Deputy Chief of Staff, is a graduate of the 48th class of the Naval Academy and is known as an expert in force requirements and nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) response strategy, having served in key positions such as Commander of the 1st Fleet, Director of Planning at Navy Headquarters, Director of Policy at Navy Headquarters, Commander of the 1st Maritime Task Group of the 1st Fleet, and Deputy Director of Force Requirements at Navy Headquarters.
This round of appointments was notable for the advancement of officers who did not graduate from the Korea Military Academy. Park Sungje, who graduated from the Officer Candidate School, became the third non-academy graduate to be appointed as Special Warfare Commander, while Han Kisung became the first ROTC graduate to be appointed as Commander of the 1st Corps. A Ministry of National Defense official explained, "For Army lieutenant generals, we actively selected outstanding talent from outside the academy, moving away from the previous academy-centric personnel practices and alleviating the concentration of appointments among academy graduates. As a result, the ratio of academy to non-academy graduates among Army lieutenant generals, which was 3.2:1 over the past five years, has improved to 1.8:1 this year."
Regarding this personnel reshuffle, the Ministry of National Defense stated, "We focused on selecting outstanding talent with a sense of mission, responsibility, and expertise who can faithfully implement the defense policy direction of the government based on popular sovereignty." The ministry added, "Amid North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and an unstable international security environment, we selected highly respected generals within the military who possess the capability and exceptional operational command skills to take the lead in defending the Korean Peninsula based on a strong South Korea-U.S. alliance."
The ministry further stated, "We will focus on personnel renewal to fulfill the historic mission of rebuilding a military that earns the trust of the people," adding, "The military will foster a 'smart, strong force' that is prepared for both the present and the future, and will do its utmost to ensure that service members are respected and trusted by the public and feel a sense of pride themselves."
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