Kim Tae-Young (R.O.K. Army general)
Encyclopedia
General
Daejang
Daejang is a senior military rank of the Korean Peninsula, used by both North and South Korea. It is considered the combined equivalent of a General and Admiral in other nations...

 (Ret.) Kim Tae-young, ROKA
Republic of Korea Army
The Republic of Korea Army is the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces with 520,000 members as of 2010...

, was the 34th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff (Republic of Korea)
Joint Chiefs of Staff of Republic of Korea is a group of Chiefs from each major branch of the armed services in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Unlike his/her United States counterpart, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has Operational Control over all military personnel of the Armed...

 of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces
Military of South Korea
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces or ROK Armed Forces, is the armed forces of the Republic of Korea...

 and 42nd Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense.

General Kim graduated from the Republic of Korea Military Academy in 1972. He previously served as Commanding General, 6th Artillery Brigade (1997-1998), Commanding General, 35th Infantry Division (1999-2000), Commanding General, Capital Defense Command (2004-2005), and Chief Director, Joint Operations Headquarters, Joint Chiefs of Staff (2005-2006).

Prior to assuming the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2008, he was Commanding General of the First ROK Army.

In September 2009, he replaced Lee Sang-Hee as the 42nd Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense.

Despite being considered as a good military officer with his skill from both inside & outside of the R.O.K. Military, he started to suffer strong criticism after the sinking of ROKS Cheonan
ROKS Cheonan sinking
The ROKS Cheonan sinking occurred on 26 March 2010, when the Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sank off the country's west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 seamen...

. On May 2010, he offered his resignation to President Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak is the President of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction and the mayor of Seoul. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother is Lee Sang-deuk, a South Korean politician. He attends the...

, although it wasn't accepted.

On 25 November 2010, he stepped down from his post as Minister of Defense in the wake of criticism he received for his handling of the shelling of Yeonpyeong. The next day it was announced that his successor would be Kim Kwan-Jin
Kim Kwan-jin
General Kim Kwan-jin, ROKA , is the current Minister of Defense of South Korea, following his appointment in November 2010. He was previously the 33rd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces....

, his JCS Chairmanship predecessor.

External links

  • http://www.jcs.mil.kr/main.html - Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff (Korean)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK