Reshuffle of S. Korea's top military brass erases legacy of Moon's NK policies

President Yoon Suk Yeol ties a string to a ceremonial sword presented to Navy Adm. Kim Myung-soo, the nominee for the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, during a promotion ceremony at the presidential office in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

A major reshuffle of South Korea’s military brass has resulted in almost all four-star generals promoted under the previous government being set to retire.

This is seen as the latest move by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration to reverse its predecessor's defense policies, military sources said, Monday.

On the previous day, Navy Operation Commander Vice Adm. Kim Myung-soo was named as the nominee for the new Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) chairman, a seat currently held by Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

The nominee is set to be appointed following a parliamentary confirmation hearing.

Soon after the announcement, the vice admiral grabbed the limelight as it is rare for a Navy officer to take the top military post. Previous JCS chiefs in the last 10 years were from the Army and the Air Force.

“The appointment of a Navy officer could mean that the government is seeking to strengthen the Navy’s capacity. But what was even more surprising was the promotion of the three-star general,” a military source told The Korea Times.

Vice Adm. Kim Myung-soo / Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense

Kim’s promotion to four-star general and subsequent appointment as JCS chairman is a break from tradition and the first since 1994 when South Korea regained peacetime operational control of its troops from the U.S.-led United Nations Command.

In addition to the new JCS chief, six other three-star generals were promoted to four-star generals in the latest reshuffle.

Among them are Lt. Gen. Park An-su, Vice. Adm. Yang Yong-mo and Lt. Gen. Lee Young-su, who were appointed as the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, respectively. Kang Shin-chul, the current head of the JCS operation headquarters, has been named as the deputy commander of the S. Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC).

The major personnel change, which followed the replacement of the defense minister in September and vice defense minister earlier this month, apparenlty reflects the government’s dissatisfaction with senior military officers.

"I think this major reshuffle reflected the defense minister's skeptical view of senior officers who were promoted during the previous Moon Jae-in government," the military source said.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, a retired three-star Army general, has been openly critical of the Moon administration’s defense policies, often accusing the peace initiative under the previous government as one of the reasons behind Pyongyang’s escalating provocations.

Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank, commented that the personnel change means that the government is ready to take an even more hawkish stance on North Korea, in contrast to its predecessor's efforts to promote inter-Korean rapprochement.

“It is very rare for the military to replace seven four-star generals at the same time. It shows that there was a deep level of discontent with some top officers failing to put the government's policies into action," he said.

"Ongoing discussions about scrapping inter-Korean military agreements may gain momentum under the new leadership," Shin added.

The latest personnel change has left Lt. Gen. Kang Shin-chul the only remaining four-star general who was promoted during the Moon administation.

Although he survived the reshuffle, the fact that Kang was appointed as the deputy commander of the CFC means that he will be relatively less involved in the government's North Korea policies than other generals, Shin said.

Meanwhile, some military officials raised concerns of a leadership vacuum caused by the early retirements of three-star generals who were not promoted in the latest reshuffle.

"Lieutenant generals are the ones deeply involved in the military's operational planning. The personnel change may create a fresh environment in the military, but there are some concerns that this will lead to the early retirement of experienced three-star generals,” said another military official, asking not to be named.