Jin Yong-sung, the chairman of Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Workers, speaks on the change of command ceremony held on the Joint Chiefs of Workers Coaching Middle in Seoul on Sept. 30, 2025. (Yonhap)
Jin Yong-sung, the chairman of Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Workers, ordered the substitute of all Joint Chiefs generals as a part of a reshuffle aimed toward clearing away the vestiges of the botched rebellion on Dec. 3, 2024. Which means all 4 heads of Joint Chiefs directorates — intelligence, operations, strategic planning and army assist — might be changed in the course of the army’s upcoming reassignment of lieutenant generals.
In early September, Korean President Lee Jae Myung changed all seven four-star generals who had been in command of the army on the time of the rebellion within the first reassignment of four-star generals since he took workplace.
“Chairman Jin Yong-sung gave orders final week for the substitute of all generals on the Joint Chiefs of Workers, in addition to all colonels and lieutenant colonels serving there for 2 or extra years. Since assuming his publish, the chairman has been resolved to rotate out army management to brush away any lingering traces of the rebellion,” a supply within the army mentioned.
The present Joint Chiefs officers might be transferred to the Ministry of Nationwide Protection or one of many three branches of the army, and their posts might be stuffed by officers presently serving outdoors of the Joint Chiefs headquarters.
The management of the Joint Chiefs of Workers is accused of sleeping on the job after completely failing to dam the deployment of troops to the Nationwide Meeting and the Nationwide Election Fee in the course of the rebellion try final December.
Jin, a four-star normal within the Air Power, was appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers on Sept. 30. Through the headquarters’ audit by the Nationwide Meeting’s Nationwide Protection Fee on Oct. 14, he acknowledged that the troopers deployed in the course of the rebellion “might have been carrying army fatigues, however they betrayed their accountability to guard the state and the individuals.”
On Sept. 24, earlier than his nomination as chairman of the Joint Chiefs was confirmed, Jin additionally apologized to the Korean public for the troop deployment in the course of the rebellion try.
There are round 40 generals within the Joint Chiefs, 100 colonels, and 600 officers on the rank of lieutenant colonel or under. After promotions are finalized, lieutenant colonels are seemingly to get replaced on the finish of this month and colonels and generals in December or January.
Round half of colonels and lieutenant colonels within the Joint Chiefs have served for 2 or extra years. Since the usual interval of service within the headquarters is 2 years, they had been slated for reassignment anyway.
Whereas Jin has ordered that each one Joint Chiefs generals be rotated out, he doesn’t even have authority over these personnel selections. As such, the precise scope of the replacements will change into clear when the brigadier normal and main normal reassignments are made.
Common officer reassignments are deliberated and proposed by the protection minister and chief of workers of every department of the army after which authorized by the president. Underneath the Armed Forces Group Act, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers is answerable for aiding the protection minister with army orders and dealing with operational oversight and command for every combat-oriented department of the army. However army personnel assignments, which fall beneath army administration, are the prerogative of the chief of workers of every department of the army.
“We’re growing a plan for a personnel reshuffle, however that hasn’t been confirmed but,” the Joint Chiefs mentioned in an official assertion launched on Thursday night about Jin’s orders for the substitute of all Joint Chiefs of Workers generals.
By Kwon Hyuk-chul, workers reporter
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