Draft:Kim Seung-kyum

Kim Seung-kyum
김승겸
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 July 2022
President	Yoon Suk-yeol
Preceded by	Won In-choul
Personal details
Born	(1963-04-01) 1 April 1963
Alma mater	Korea Military Academy
Military service
Allegiance	South Korea
Branch/service	Republic of Korea Army
Years of service	1986-Present
Rank	General
Unit	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Deputy Commander of ROK-US Combined Forces Command 3rd Corps
Battles/wars	Korean Conflict

Kim Seung-kyum (Korean: 원인철; Hanja: 元仁哲; born April 1963), is a South Korean Army General who served as its Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) from 2022 to Present under President Yoon Suk-Yeol. ROK-US Combined Forces Command Deputy Commander nominated as new Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman.

Early life and education

Park was born in 1963 and he entered the Korea Military Academy in 1982 and graduated at the academy.

Military Career

File:Camp, Humpheys, South Korea.jpg

U.S. Forces Korea commander Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, left, and South Korean Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, salute during a welcome ceremony at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, July 12, 2022. (Kris Bonet/U.S. Army)

After graduating at the Korea Military Academy in 1986, Park commissioned as second lieutenant in 1986, Kim has served in various key military posts, including the vice Army chief of staff and the head of the 3rd Corps.

His service led to his promotion to the rank of Captain in 1987, where he served as a infantry officer in the 3rd Corps. In 1994, Park achieved the rank of Major within the 3rd Corps. In 2006, he received a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 2008, he further advanced in rank to Colonel. Kim had risen to the rank of Brigadier General in 2012. In 2015, he is promoted to Major General. He was later promoted to Lieutenant General in 2017. In 2021, he received a last promotion to the rank of four-star rank of General.

In 25 May 2022, he was named chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Kim is set to replace Air Force Gen. Won In-choul, an Air Force Academy graduate. He was replaced by Gen. Ahn Byung-suk, former Deputy Commander of ROK/US Combined Forces Command. In 5 July 2022, Kim was served as a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after replacing air force Gen. Won In-choul.

On 12 July 2022, he accompanied at Camp Humphreys by U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, inspected a troop formation and said he felt “the fiery camaraderie here.” South Korean President Yoon Seok Youl selected Kim for the nation’s highest military post. Appointed July 5, he replaced air force Gen. Won In Choul, who served in the position since 2020. In a speech during a ceremony at Barker Field, LaCamera described Kim as “smart, cordial and physically tough.” Kim most recently served as the deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and previously as the South Korean army vice chief of staff and commander of the army’s 3rd Corps. Kim described the welcome as a great honor and referred to increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula fueled by North Korea’s record-breaking run of missile tests, 17 rounds so far this year. “The security situation around the Korean Peninsula recently is grave,” Kim said. North Korea “continues to refine its nuclear and missile capabilities, thereby posing a significant threat to the regional security order.” Despite that threat, South Korea holds “the most powerful key,” he said. “And that key is none other than our steadfast U.S.-South Korea alliance.” That alliance is a “blood bond forged in the crucible of war,” Kim told an audience of about 100 South Korean and U.S. military leaders and guests. South Korea, which has military conscription, has about 625,000 service members on active duty and about 3 million in reserve, according to a U.S. Defense Department report in 2017. USFK has about 28,500 troops on the peninsula. Military relations between the U.S. and South Korea are pivotal to deterring regional threats, LaCamera said during his address. “War is a brutal business — we cannot afford to forget our profession’s grim realities,” he said. “We all hope that doesn’t happen, but we must continue to train and be ready.” Since 2015, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division has combined U.S. and South Korea troops, the first formation of combined forces at that scale in the U.S. Army, according to its commander at the time, Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal. “True to his character, I know Gen. Kim will continue to give 100% and then some,” LaCamera said Tuesday. “That’s another reason why the South Korea-U.S. alliance can rely on his dedication of taking care of the sons and daughters entrusted to us.” Yoon, a member of the conservative People Power Party, took office in May. He campaigned on closer ties to the U.S. and a firmer response to North Korean weapons tests. Meeting with top South Korean military officials on July 6, Yoon vowed to “punish North Korea swiftly and adamantly” if the regime chose to destabilize the region.

On 2 March 2023, South Korean top military general Kim Seung-kyum vowed to establish a wartime combined operations posture against rising threats from North Korea, local media reported on Thursday. Inspecting the combined special operations drills between the US and South Korean militaries, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Kim called on the troops to maintain their capabilities to "strike the enemy's critical facilities without fail," Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting a statement from his office. “Kim stressed the importance of harnessing the capability to strike the enemy's critical facilities without fail, and establishing a wartime combined operations posture by enhancing interoperability between the allies through realistic combined special operations training,” the agency quoted JCS as saying. Kim also spoke about rising threats from North Korea and called on his troops to always prepare to inflict critical damage on the enemy, it said. Kim on Monday inspected joint military drills by South Korea and US special commandos involving AC-130J and MC-130J warplanes. The US had also deployed AC-130J, a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack plane for the first time to Korea. Tensions on Korean Peninsula escalated late last year when North Korea launched at least 60 missiles while South Korea and the US held joint military exercises.

Republic of Korea Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Kim Seung-kyum visits the 210 Field Artillery Brigade for a capabilities brief 17 April 2023, Camp Casey, South Korea. 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-US Combined commanding general, Maj. Gen. David Lesperance played host to him and provided a capabilities brief and short tour of the Brigade.

Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea faces a different type of security threat from North Korea when compared with the Hamas militant group, and will beef up its warfare capability to deter any provocations, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday, after 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. He made the assessment during a parliamentary audit amid renewed security concerns in South Korea over Seoul's capabilities to counter a potential attack from North Korea. "Our military confronts an adversary equipped with different military capability from Hamas. The South Korean military is maintaining firm warfare capabilities that can retaliate against any provocations by the adversary and aggression immediately, strongly and until the end," Kim said. Hamas unleashed a barrage of some 5,000 rockets on Israel last Saturday, with some of them bypassing Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, despite its known interception rate of 90 percent. The attack has brought renewed attention to South Korea's military capabilities for countering the threats posed by North Korea's artillery positioned near the border, which is known to be more powerful than Hamas' rockets. Kim said South Korea has been putting resources to achieve "peace through strength" amid Pyongyang's advancing missile and nuclear threat and uncertainties surrounding the regional security. "Through close coordination with the United States, the South Korean military has been increasing the extended deterrence capabilities of the South Korean-U.S. alliance and the three-axis system to enhance our ability to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," Kim said. A military parade is under way in downtown Seoul amid rain on Sept. 26, 2023, involving long-range surface-to-air missiles, Hyunmoo missiles and missile defense system, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day. A military parade is under way in downtown Seoul amid rain on Sept. 26, 2023, involving long-range surface-to-air missiles, Hyunmoo missiles and missile defense system, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day. In a policy report, the JCS said it will beef up the operational capability of the country's "three-axis" defense system against North Korea. The system includes the Korea Air and Missile Defense system, which involves the long-range surface-to-air missile system and an improved version of the mid-range surface-to air missile system, as well as an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict and the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike platform during Korean Conflict.

Effective dates of promotion

Promotions

Insignia	Rank	Year
	General	2021
	Lieutenant General	2017
	Major General	2015
	Brigadier General	2012
	Colonel	2008
	Lieutenant Colonel	2006
	Major	1994
	Captain	1987

Awards

• Presidential Distinguished Graduate Award at Command and Staff Course (1994)
• Presidential Citation (2006)