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| ▲ This undated file photo shows Lt. Gen. Hwang You-sung, who has been named as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Yonhap) |
defense ministry-military reshuffle
Counterintelligence unit chief named as JCS vice chairman
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- The commander of the military's counterintelligence unit has been appointed as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the defense ministry said Monday, in a wider reshuffle of senior generals.
Lt. Gen. Hwang You-sung, commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, will replace Lt. Gen. Park Woong as part of the reshuffle, following the appointment of the new JCS chairman nominee, Adm. Kim Myung-soo, last week.
"Considering the current JCS chairman nominee is from the Navy, Hwang was named to the post so that an operations specialist from the Army can assist him," a defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Hwang is considered to be an Army operations expert, having previously served as the commander of the 20th Mechanized Infantry Division.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Lim Ki-hoon, former presidential secretary for national defense, was tapped to be promoted to lieutenant general and named as the new president of Korea National Defense University under the defense ministry.
In the latest reshuffle, 1st Marine Division Commander Maj. Gen. Im Sung-geun was assigned to a policy training program amid lingering questions over his role in a search mission that led to the death of a young Marine in July.
Im has faced accusations of pushing for the risky operation to search for victims of downpours that led to the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun in an overflowing stream in Yecheon County, 161 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Gye-hwan was not included in the latest reshuffle and will remain in his current post.
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