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| ▲ In this file photo taken Oct. 1, 2025, President Lee Jae Myung (L) shakes hands with Col. Park Jung-hun, chief of the Marine Corps investigation team, during a ceremony marking the 77th Armed Forces Day at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
military-reshuffle
Top Marine investigator acquitted in conscript death probe promoted to one-star general
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- The chief Marine investigator who was reinstated after he was acquitted of insubordination charges in a controversial probe into the death of a conscript has been promoted to brigadier general, the defense ministry said Friday.
Col. Park Jung-hun was acquitted in January of insubordination charges over his revelation that senior officials of the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration interfered in an initial probe into the death of a young conscript killed during a search for flood victims in July 2023.
In a military reshuffle, the defense ministry newly promoted 76 others, alongside Park, to the rank of one-star general officer. A total of 41 one-star general officers were also promoted to the rank of two-star general officer.
Friday's reshuffle marks the latest in a series of personnel shakeups aimed at restructuring the military's leadership after former President Yoon's botched martial law bid in 2024.
Reflecting such a push, the portion of promoted general officers who did not graduate from the Korea Military Academy hit the highest in a decade, while a record five women general officers were promoted.
The ministry announced the promotion of seven four-star generals in September, in the first major personnel shake-up to take place under the Lee Jae Myung administration. In November, 20 military generals were promoted to three-star posts, which marked the biggest such promotion in the past decade.
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