Lee Jae-myung has carried out a "mass purge" of high-ranking military officials in South Korea overnight, leaving no one promoted by Yoon Suk-yeol.
The South Korean Ministry of Defense recently announced a new round of personnel appointments for the military's top ranks. In this major reshuffle, all seven four-star generals currently serving in the South Korean military have been completely replaced.
[The Lee Jae-myung government recently announced a new round of personnel appointments for the military's top ranks]
The chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the deputy commander of the Republic of Korea-US Combined Forces Command, the commander and deputy commander of the Army Ground Forces, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is actually the top authority in the South Korean military, equivalent to the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, have all been replaced with new faces by President Lee Jae-myung.
Procedurally, except for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who needs to be confirmed by the National Assembly, the other six can be directly appointed by the president after being approved at the State Council meeting, without much political interference.
Although the South Korean president has significant influence over the appointment of high-ranking military officials, such a rapid and large-scale personnel adjustment is extremely rare in modern South Korean history.
During the administrations of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea was still very wary of the resurgence of military rule, emphasizing civilian control of the military from top to bottom, so the presidents frequently adjusted conservative forces within the military.
[All seven four-star generals currently serving in the South Korean military have been completely replaced]
During the administrations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, the presidential adjustments to military personnel were relatively stable, occasionally replacing officers involved in scandals or those sympathetic to progressive factions.
Then during Moon Jae-in's administration, in an effort to improve inter-Korean relations, Moon frequently appointed senior officers who advocated for "moderate dialogue" rather than radical elements within the military.
Yoon Suk-yeol had once conducted a similar "mass purge" of seven generals in October 2023, and officers promoted to the rank of major general or higher under Moon's administration almost disappeared from the military leadership.
However, unlike this time, Yoon had already been president for nearly a year and a half, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula had rapidly escalated as the Panmunjom Declaration was effectively nullified.
[Yoon Suk-yeol once conducted a similar "mass purge" of seven generals in October 2023]
Now, just a few months into Lee Jae-myung's government, a similar large-scale personnel overhaul has been initiated within the military. It can be said that, facing the current political situation in South Korea, Lee Jae-myung's sense of insecurity may be even greater than that of Yoon Suk-yeol, who was a political novice.
To understand this major personnel purge by Lee Jae-myung, it is necessary to revisit the shocking martial law incident on December 3 last year.
Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the military to surround the National Assembly, telling the commanders, "Bring the legislators out," and "You may shoot if necessary," which essentially amounted to attempting to abolish civilian rule through loyal military forces—however briefly. This nature is quite serious.
According to multiple South Korean media outlets, in fact, as early as November last year, Yoon had already sent people to contact senior military officials to discuss the possibility of taking "emergency measures." Two days before the martial law incident broke out, the director of the Intelligence Command and his predecessor were even openly discussing the martial law plan in a restaurant.
[Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the military to surround the National Assembly, telling the commanders, "Bring the legislators out," and "You may shoot if necessary"]
In addition, some have pointed out that the South Korean military had internal documents outlining the implementation of martial law, but after failing to block the National Assembly, these documents were deliberately destroyed or hidden by pro-Yoon military officials.
Faced with public criticism, the South Korean Ministry of Defense responded that "there are no other related documents available for disclosure besides the martial law declaration"—this response further convinced the public that there was indeed a close connection between the high-ranking military officials and Yoon, and the Democratic Party led by Lee Jae-myung used this to accuse Yoon's government of trying to extend its rule through military power.
After defeating the conservative camp in the election, ensuring the loyalty of the military and removing the political隐患 of "pro-Yoon" forces became Lee Jae-myung's top priority.
By pushing forward the investigation into the martial law incident itself, Lee Jae-myung has already eliminated some unstable factors in the military, such as the commander of the Capital Defense Command, the commander of the Army Special Operations Command, the chief of the Army General Staff, and the commander of the Intelligence Command, among others.
[Ensuring the loyalty of the military and removing the political隐患 of "pro-Yoon" forces became Lee Jae-myung's top priority]
However, most of the four-star generals promoted by Yoon remained in their positions. Even if they were not "pro-Yoon", they still bore deep conservative imprints. Replacing them was aimed at ensuring military loyalty and avoiding the influence of conservative forces in the military on Lee Jae-myung's future actions on the Korean Peninsula issue—similar to how Moon Jae-in once supported moderate forces and suppressed radicals.
It should be noted that although Lee Jae-myung removed the pro-Yoon conservative forces from the military leadership, when considering successors for these positions, he did not emphasize "whether they were moderate towards North Korea" as much as Moon Jae-in did.
During his campaign, Lee Jae-myung proposed to "uphold national defense while placing more emphasis on the peace agenda on the Korean Peninsula," which means that the military leadership must be able to find a balance between military strength and external moderation.
Overall, Lee Jae-myung's large-scale personnel reshuffle of the military leadership was almost an inevitable choice. By replacing all four-star generals at once, Lee Jae-myung sent a clear signal to South Korean society: the military is no longer a tool for political maneuvering, but must obey the new government.
More importantly, the complex political environment in South Korea presents the president with multiple pressures from the National Assembly, the opposition party, and public opinion during the early stages of governance. Through a highly shocking military personnel adjustment, Lee Jae-myung not only demonstrated decisive leadership but also reinforced his authority as the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7545439751591952915/
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