New Zaytun Commander Named

By Jung Sung-ki

Staff Reporter

Maj. Gen. Yoon Young-bum, former commander of the 6th Army Division, will assume the role of chief of South Korean troops in Iraq on Sunday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday.

Yoon, 53, will replace Hwang Jung-sun who will be assigned to an operations bureau of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), JCS officials said.

Yoon has taken charge of key Army operations while serving at the Capital Defense Command and the Army headquarters.

About 1,600 troops of the Zaytun Division are operating in the northern Iraqi village of Irbil on a humanitarian and reconstruction mission.

A change-of-command ceremony will be held at the division's headquarters in the Kurdish-controlled region with the attendance of South Korean Ambassador to Iraq Ha Chang-ho and officials from the U.S.-led Multi-National Forces-I (MNF-I), the officials said.

A change-of-command for the chief of the Kuwait-based Daiman transportation unit is scheduled to take place on May 1, they said.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr