President Yoon Suk Yeol has made a second reshuffling of the top posts of the military since he took office in May 2022. The decision was made to demonstrate a strong commitment to keeping peace through strength. But it is also necessary to ensure that the new military leadership is able to function properly in a period of increasing nuclear tension with North Korea, the Ukraine war, and the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East.
The most remarkable change in the reshuffle is the promotion of Naval Operations Commander Vice Adm. Kim Myung-soo to the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This is the first time this has happened in 53 years, and it is seen as a way to balance the power between the different branches of the military.
Adm. Kim has a distinguished record, having graduated from the Naval Academy with top honors in the 1980s and captaining the destroyer King Sejong the Great. His expertise in the “three-axis” defense system is also seen as an asset, since 90 percent of military operations are conducted at sea.
The other six four-star general posts, including the Army, Navy and Air Force Chiefs of Staff, the deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and the commanders of the Ground Operations Command and the Second Operations Command, have also been replaced in order to replace the previous dovish Moon Jae-in administration appointees. This is linked to the need to address the lack of action from the military leadership in the past, such as the North Korean reconnaissance drones that crossed the border in December 2020 without any response.
Although reshuffling is important, stability is also a necessity. It is not ideal for the JCS chairman and the other four-star generals to be forced to leave their posts before their two-year term has ended. It takes a long time to become an able general, and the government should learn from the way the U.S. treats its generals.