Military reshuffles top brass

Brigadier General Song Myung-soon First female `combat’ officer promoted to general By Jung Sung-ki Col. Song Myung-soon at the civil operations bureau of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) was promoted to brigadier general Thursday, becoming the first Korean female “combat” officer to reach that rank. Adm. Kim Jung-doo, head of the JCS’ arms improvement bureau, was promoted to the post of vice chairman of the JCS, according to the Ministry of National Defense. Meanwhile, President Lee Myung-bak named Maj. Gen. Yoon Young-beom, deputy chief of staff of the Combined Forces Command (CFC), as new presidential secretary for defense affairs. Song previously had a combat specialty: before her, only nursing officers made one-star general. “The aspect of combat operations has certainly changed, so the roles of female soldiers and officers have become more important than before,” Song told reporters. “If we take the best advantage of women’s skills in civil operations and others, for example, I’m sure the military’s contribution to domestic and overseas operations will further increase.” In a general-level reshuffle, following the replacement of the Army Chief of Staff Wednesday, a total of 111 senior officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force were promoted, the ministry said in a statement. New Army chief of staff Gen. Kim Sang-ki held an inaugural ceremony in the Gyeryongdae military compound in South Chungcheong Province. He replaces Gen. Hwang Eui-don. “In the reshuffle, we tried to pick those who have gone the right way, are in support of reforming the military, and have the ability to manage combined and joint operations,” the statement said. “In particular, we considered field-command experience as one of the most important elements to promote those generals.” Maj. Gen. Shin Hyun-don at the JCS’ operations bureau was appointed as commander of the Special Warfare Command. Maj. Gen. Sung Il-hwan was promoted to a three-star general to become vice chief of the Air Force, while Lee Young-man, also a major general, at the intelligence and operations bureau of the Air Force was promoted to lieutenant general to head the Air Force’s Operations Command. In his inauguration speech, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim vowed a “stern and strong” response to any North Korean provocation. Kim also called for further improving the military’s combat readiness while reducing unnecessary administrative and bureaucratic procedures. “By rooting out unnecessary administrative works and simplifying the management of units, the military will be transformed into a combat-oriented one,” Kim said. “To that end, we’ll boost practical training exercises to nurture strong warrior soldiers and elite military leaders.”

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr