Shin Won-sik (Korean: 신원식, born July 24, 1958) is a retired South Korean army lieutenant general and former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Currently; he holds the position of Minister of National Defense within the cabinet of President Yoon Suk Yeol in the October 7, 2023 to 9 September 2024. He is the current 8th director of the South Korean National Security Bureau since August 12, 2024.
Shin Won-sik | |
|---|---|
| 신원식 | |
_Tokyo,_Japan_on_July_28,_2024_(cropped).jpg) Shin in 2024 | |
| Minister of National Defense | |
| In office 7 October 2023 – 9 September 2024 | |
| President | Yoon Suk Yeol |
| Prime Minister | Han Duck-soo |
| Preceded by | Lee Jong-sup |
| Succeeded by | Kim Yong-hyun |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 30 May 2020 – 31 October 2023 | |
| Constituency | Proportional |
| Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | |
| In office 7 April 2015 – 27 October 2015 | |
| President | Park Geun-hye |
| Preceded by | Kim Yu-geun |
| Succeeded by | Um Hyun-sung |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 July 1958 Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea[1] |
| Political party | People Power Party |
| Other political affiliations | Future Korea Party |
| Alma mater | Korea Military Academy (BA) Kyungnam University (MBA) Kookmin University (PhD) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  South Korea |
| Branch/service |  Republic of Korea Army |
| Years of service | 1981–2016 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant general |
| Shin Won-sik | |
| Hangul | 신원식 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Sin Wonsik |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sin Wonsik |
Biography
editHe was born in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.[2]
Military career
editShin graduated from the 37th class of the Korea Military Academy in 1981.[3] On October 24, 1985, a private from the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment, 8th Division of the Army, of which Captain Shin Won-sik was the company commander at the time, was killed in a training accident. At the time, the military reported that it was caused by unexploded ordnance. A later reinvestigation by the Presidential Military Network Accident Investigation Commission found that the accident was caused by a misfired bullet.[4][5] From 2012 to 2013, he served as the commanding general of the Capital Defense Command, in charge of defending Seoul.[6] His final rank was Lieutenant General of the Army, and he served as the Chief of Operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Shin retired from the military in 2016.[7]
Political career
editIn 2020, Shin was elected as a member of the 21st National Assembly of the Republic of Korea for the Future Korea Party, which later merged into the United Future Party (now the People Power Party).[6] On September 13, 2023, President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated Shin as a candidate for the Minister of National Defense. Shin is considered a hawk in South Korean foreign policy towards North Korea, having criticized his country's Sunshine Policy.[8] His nomination was confirmed on 7 October 2023.[9] Since 12 August 2024, he is the current 8th director of the South Korean Office of National Security. Until his successor takes up his duties, he temporarily serves as Chief of Security and Minister of Defence. There is a precedent for such a case of Kim Kwan-jin (former Defense Minister of Lee Myung-Bak and Park Geun-hye who held both positions from June 1 to 29, 2014).
See also
editReferences
edit
- ^ "통영출신의 신원식 제49대 국방부장관 취임". 통영신문 (in Korean). 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
- ^ "SHIN, WON SIK" (PDF). amchamkorea.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ "悲運의 황태자 期數인가, 특혜 받은 期數인가" (in Korean). 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ ""38년 전 군 사망사고 원인 왜곡됐다"‥당시 중대장은 국힘 신원식 의원" (in Korean). 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ "신원식, 중대장 시절 부대원 사인 조작 보도에 "손해배상 청구"" (in Korean). 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ a b Jeongmin Kim (2023-09-14). "Controversial general-turned-lawmaker nominated as South Korean defense minister". NK News. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ Kim, Sarah (13 September 2023). "Yoon replaces defense, culture and gender ministers in Cabinet reshuffle". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ Leilani Chavez (2023-09-18). "South Korea's president nominates new defense minister". DefenseNews. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ Kim Na-young (2023-10-07). "Yoon appoints new defense, culture ministers". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
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