The Ministry of National Defense on the 13th announced promotions and assignments for lieutenant generals. A total of 20 people were promoted from major general to lieutenant general, the most in the past 10 years.
On this day, the Ministry of National Defense said 14 from the Army, three from the Navy, and three from the Air Force were promoted from major general to lieutenant general.
In the Army, Han Gi-seong, Jeong Yu-su, Lee Sang-ryeol, Lee Il-yong, Choi Seong-jin, and Lee Im-su were promoted from major general to lieutenant general and appointed as corps commanders.
Park Seong-je and Eo Chang-jun were promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as the Special Warfare Command commander and the Capital Defense Command commander, respectively. Kwon Hyeok-dong and Kang Gwan-beom were also promoted to lieutenant general and became the Missile Strategic Command commander and the Education Command commander, respectively.
The Ministry of National Defense also, along with promotion to lieutenant general, appointed Park Chun-sik as Logistics Command commander, Choi Jang-sik as Army vice chief of staff, Kang Hyeon-u as the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) operations director, and Kim Jong-muk as Ground Operations Command chief of staff.
In these Army lieutenant general appointments, the Ministry of National Defense increased the share of non-academy officers. Over the past five years, the ratio of Korea Military Academy to non-KMA lieutenant generals was 3.2 to 1, but this year the ratio is 1.8 to 1.
In the Navy, Gwak Gwang-seop (Navy vice chief of staff; new posts hereafter), Park Gyu-baek (Korea Naval Academy superintendent), and Kang Dong-gu (the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Strategic Planning Directorate director) were promoted from major general to lieutenant general. In the Air Force, Kwon Yeong-min (Education Command commander), Kim Jun-ho (Defense Intelligence Agency director), and Gu Sang-mo (the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Military Support Directorate director) were promoted.
The Ministry of National Defense deemed former Counterintelligence Command commander Yeo In-hyeong, former Capital Defense Command commander Lee Jin-u, and former Special Warfare Command commander Gwak Jong-geun—who are on trial on charges including engaging in important missions related to insurrection—as outside the authorized personnel count, and filled their lieutenant general billets.
An official at the Ministry of National Defense said the focus was on overcoming the "Dec. 3 martial law" situation, rebuilding the people's military, ensuring diversity in personnel, and preventing security gaps through stabilizing the armed forces.
Earlier, on Sept. 1, in the first reshuffle of the military leadership under the Lee Jae-myung administration, seven four-star generals—the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS); the Army, Navy, and Air Force chiefs of staff; the deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command; the Army Ground Operations Command commander; and the 2nd Operations Command commander—were all replaced.
At that time, the Ministry of National Defense promoted seven three-star generals to four-star generals, revamping the top brass. As a result, the scope of this round of three-star general appointments has expanded.