Defense ministry appoints ex-Air Force major general as policy chief

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said Monday that it will appoint a retired Air Force major general as its new deputy minister for policy this week.

On Tuesday, Chung Suk-hwan will take over from Yeo Suk-joo, who left the ministry last week after a year of service.

"We believe that (Chung Suk-hwan) can respond smoothly to the change in the security environment given that he has expertise in defense and foreign policy, and knowledge about key security issues," the ministry said in a press release.

Since Chung was commissioned as second lieutenant in 1983, he had served in various key positions, including those handling force management and defense planning at the Air Force headquarters, and intelligence analysis at the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.

Chung retired from the military in 2016.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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