Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-ryeol, commander of the 3rd Corps, was nominated on the 13th as the new Army Ground Operations Command chief. Lee is not a Korea Military Academy graduate.

President Lee Jae-myung poses for a commemorative photo with 3rd Corps Commander Lee Sang-ryeol during the three-star general promotion and appointment report and sash presentation ceremony at the main Cheong Wa Dae building on January 16. /Courtesy of News1

The Ministry of National Defense said that it will promote Army Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-ryeol, commander of the 3rd Corps, to four-star general and appoint him as Ground Operations Command chief. President Lee Jae-myung, the commander in chief of the armed forces, plans to appoint him on the 14th after a Cabinet meeting review.

Lee is a graduate of ROTC class 31. The Ground Operations Command chief has mainly been filled by Korea Military Academy graduates. Among non-KMA graduates, he is the second after former commander Nam Young-shin (ROTC class 23) in 2019.

Before leading the 3rd Corps, Lee served as commander of the Korea Combat Training Center, commander of the 21st Infantry Division, and commander of the 1st Artillery Brigade.

An official at the Ministry of National Defense said Lee has operational command ability and diverse combat training experience to solidify a firm military readiness posture amid the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and unstable international security conditions.

The personnel move came 60 days after former Ground Operations Command chief Joo Seong-woon was removed from duty over allegations of involvement in the Dec. 3 martial law plan.

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