Government Carries Out General Officer Appointments Below Lieutenant General; Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, Who Resisted Pressure Over Death of Marine Corporal Chae Case, Promoted to Brigadier General

[Financial News] The government on the 9th announced promotions for general officers at the rank of major general and below. Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who as head of the Marine Corps investigative team probed the Death of Marine Corporal Chae during flood rescue operations and resisted outside pressure, was promoted to brigadier general. Brigadier General Park is expected to be appointed acting head of the Defense Investigation Headquarters.
Through this round of promotions, the MND elevated 41 officers to major general: 27 from the Army including Brigadier General Park Min-young, 7 from the Navy including Rear Admiral Ko Seung-beom, 1 from the Marine Corps, Brigadier General Park Sung-soon, and 6 from the Air Force including Brigadier General Kim Yong-jae. In addition, 77 officers were promoted to brigadier general: 53 Army colonels including Colonel Min Gyu-deok, 10 Navy colonels including Colonel Park Gil-seon, 3 Marine Corps colonels including Colonel Hyun Woo-sik, and 11 Air Force colonels including Colonel Kim Tae-hyun. They will be assigned as commanders of key combat units and as staff officers at each service headquarters.■ Breaking with past practice, appointments that cut across branch barriersThis personnel round stands out for boldly breaking with long-standing practices that favored certain educational backgrounds and branches.
According to the MND, by selecting talent from a wide range of fields regardless of commissioning source, branch, or specialty, the share of non–Korea Military Academy officers among Army promotions to major general rose from 20% in the previous promotion board to 41%, while the share among new Army brigadier generals increased from 25% to 43%.
Among newly promoted Air Force brigadier generals, the proportion from non-pilot branches also expanded from 25% to about 45%. The MND noted that the overall share of non–Korea Military Academy officers promoted in this round is the highest level in the past decade for which comparable records exist.
Major General Kim Heon-jung, a former back-seat fighter pilot, became the first officer since the 1990s to be promoted to major general from the cadre of back-seat specialists responsible for weapons, navigation, and flight duties in fighter aircraft.
Division commander posts, which for decades had been dominated by combat arms such as infantry and artillery, were filled by officers from other branches: Major General Ye Min-cheol from the engineers and Marine Major General Park Sung-soon from armor were each assigned to division commands. In addition, with the promotion of Major General Kim Heon-jung, a former back-seat fighter pilot, for the first time since the 1990s, the military highlighted its recognition of specialized expertise.
Colonel Lee Chung-hee, who was commissioned as an officer after serving as an enlisted soldier and noncommissioned officer under the warrant officer commissioning program, became the first officer promoted to brigadier general through that system since it was introduced in 1996.
Women officers also made notable strides. In this round, one woman was promoted to major general and four to brigadier general, for a total of five female general officers, the largest number ever selected at one time.■ Colonels Park Jeong-hoon and Kim Moon-sang promoted to brigadier general, assigned to key postsBrigadier General–select Park Jeong-hoon experienced a series of setbacks, including removal from his post and indictment, during the 2023 investigation into the Death of Marine Corporal Chae during flood rescue operations. However, he was recently acquitted in a court-martial, and his principled stance was effectively vindicated. Park is expected to focus on ensuring fairness in the military investigative system as he carries out his duties as acting head of the Defense Investigation Headquarters.
Colonel Kim Moon-sang, who as operations chief of the Capital Defense Command (CDC) during the December 3 Martial Law in 2024 three times refused to allow Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command (ROK-SWC) helicopters to enter Seoul airspace, thereby delaying martial law forces from reaching the National Assembly, was also included on the promotion list. Widely credited with defending the Constitution and the National Assembly by defying unlawful orders, Brigadier General–select Kim will be appointed director of civil-military operations at the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff (ROK JCS), where he will oversee integrated operations among the military, government, and civilian sectors.
“This round of promotions focused on building a military filled with a strong sense of mission, grounded in loyalty to the Constitution and the people,” the MND stated. It added, “We will continue to identify and advance personnel who have quietly fulfilled their duties across diverse fields, regardless of commissioning source or branch, in order to rebuild a ‘military of the people.’”
wangjylee@fnnews.com Lee Jong-yoon Reporter