S.Korea replaces chiefs of army, air force, marine corps

South Korea's military on Monday replaced the chiefs of the army, the air force, and the marine corps in a regular reshuffle of top military officers.

Lt. Gen. Suh Wook, 56, chief director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), was named as the new chief of staff of the army, according to Seoul's defense ministry.

He was known to have expertise in military operations, having headed the frontline field units of the army since he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1985.

Lt. Gen. Won In-choul, the vice chairman of the JCS, was nominated to lead the air force. The 58-year-old was also known to have expertise in air defense maneuvers as he headed the air force operations command and the military support division of the JCS.

Maj. Gen. Lee Seung-do, head of the military readiness inspection group at the JCS, was tapped as new commander of the marine corps.

Lt. Gen. Choi Byung-hyuk, the vice chief of staff of the army, was nominated as the deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. combined forces command, while Lt. Gen. Nam Young-sin, the head of the defense security support command, was named as chief of the ground operations command.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)