Kang Shin-cheol, the nominee for Defense Minister, is a four-star general who previously served as the deputy commander of the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command.
After graduating from the Army Academy (46th class), he held various key positions within the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Combined Forces Command. He has been appointed to critical roles under both progressive and conservative administrations.
Following his service as the policy director at the Combined Forces Command and the operations planning director at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he served as a military advisor to then-Defense Minister Han Min-koo from 2016 to 2017 during the Park Geun-hye administration.
He later held positions as the operations director of the Army's First Corps, the president of the Army Command College, and the commander of the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division, before becoming the director of strategic planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
During the Moon Jae-in administration, he worked as the defense reform secretary and the security and defense strategy secretary at the National Security Office from 2021 to 2022. His predecessor in the defense reform role is Kang Geon-jak, the current first deputy director of the National Security Office.
After the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, he was appointed to the important position of operations director at the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was promoted to four-star general in 2023, subsequently becoming the deputy commander of the Combined Forces Command, the highest position for a South Korean general in the command. He was the only individual promoted to four-star general from the rank of lieutenant general during the Yoon administration, having been promoted to major general during the Moon administration.
After serving as deputy commander of the Combined Forces Command until September 2025, he was appointed as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia in January of this year, focusing on strengthening defense cooperation and protecting South Korean citizens abroad.
The Lee Jae-myung administration emphasized 'resolving insurrections' and defense reform when it appointed Minister Ahn Gyu-baek as its first Defense Minister in June of last year, following the 12-3 emergency martial law situation.
There is keen interest in whether Kang can address pressing defense issues, such as the integration of military academies and the transfer of wartime operational control.
His close involvement in alliance matters during his tenure as deputy commander of the Combined Forces Command has earned him high praise. The decision to appoint Kang, an Army Academy graduate, comes at a time when efforts are underway to integrate the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies.
Kang Hoon-sik, the chief of staff at the Blue House, explained during a briefing, "He is currently the ambassador to Saudi Arabia and a four-star general who has held key positions, including operations director at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We expect him to strengthen self-defense capabilities in preparation for future warfare based on a solid South Korea-U.S. alliance and to boldly and swiftly open new paths for defense innovation, including the integration of military academies."
◇ Profile
△ Born in 1968 △ Kyungsung High School △ Army Academy (46th class) △ Master's degree in military studies from Chungnam National University (Graduate School of Peace and Security) △ Military advisor to the Ministry of National Defense △ Operations director of the Army's First Corps △ President of the Army Command College △ Commander of the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division △ Director of strategic planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff △ Defense reform secretary at the National Security Office △ Security and defense strategy secretary at the National Security Office △ Deputy commander of the Ground Operations Command △ Operations director at the Joint Chiefs of Staff △ Deputy commander of the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command △ Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
* This article has been translated by AI.
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