"Four-Star General Dad": Kang Shin-chul's Son Used His Father’s Photo as His KakaoTalk Profile Photo During Military Service ... Chun Ha-ram: "Wouldn’t People at the Unit Have Known?"

[Financial News] Lawmaker Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party has once again criticized Minister of National Defense nominee Kang Shin-chul’s son for posting a photo with his father, who was then an active-duty four-star general, as his KakaoTalk profile photo during his military service.

Appearing on CBS Radio’s "Park Sung-tae’s News Show" on the 17th, Chun said, "If someone is the son of a four-star general, people at the unit would all know that ‘a general’s son is coming to our unit’ even without a profile photo. Yet putting up such a photo could make not only fellow service members but also several superiors very uncomfortable."
At the confirmation hearing for nominee Kang held the previous day by the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, Chun disclosed that Kang’s son, who was serving as a second lieutenant, had set several photos of himself in military uniform with Kang as his KakaoTalk profile photos. In 2023, Kang was serving as the deputy commander of the ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), a four-star general.
At the time, Chun asked, "People in the military communicate extensively with one another via KakaoTalk these days. If I had been at that unit, it would mean that ‘the son of an active-duty four-star general has come to our unit.’ Wouldn’t that be an enormous matter? Do you really think there would be no special handling or preferential treatment at the unit in that situation?"
Nominee Kang responded, "You are saying that because you do not know how the military operates. I did not tell the unit that I was a four-star general." When Chun requested Kang’s military service records to verify allegations of preferential treatment during his son’s military service, Kang also replied, "Go to the unit and check for yourself how my son served."

Referring to nominee Kang’s stance during the broadcast, Chun said, "One might say the son did that because he was immature, but wouldn’t the father naturally have seen his son’s KakaoTalk profile photo as well? I was asking nominee Kang whether, while his son was serving as an active-duty soldier, he should have made the judgment to tell him, ‘Take the photo down.’"
He continued, "I raised the issue because I thought the nominee’s understanding of separating public and private matters and of fairness within the military was far too poor. He tells me that I say this because I do not understand the military’s circumstances, but the public may instead see Kang Shin-chul as the one who does not understand the situation."
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter