Kim Kwan-jin (Korean: ; Hanja: ; born August 27, 1949) was Chief of the Republic of Korea the National Security Office under President Park Geun-hye, a position to which he was appointed in 2014. He was previously the 33rd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean armed forces and the Minister of National Defense.
Career.
Kim previously served as Commanding General, 35th Infantry Division (1999–2000), Commanding General, II Corps (2002–2004), and Chief Director, Joint Operations Headquarters, Joint Chiefs of Staff (2004–2005). He was promoted to four-star general and assumed command of Third ROK Army in 2005. In 2006, he became the 33rd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing General Lee Sang-hee.
On March 28, 2008, he was replaced by General Kim Tae-young. Following incidents of the bombardment of Yeonpyeong, he was selected to replace Kim Tae-young as a new National Defense Minister of the Republic of Korea on November 26, 2010.
After the end of President Lee Myung-bak's term in office in February 2013, incoming President Park Geun-hye decided to retain Kim in his post of Defense Minister after Park's nominee Kim Byung-kwan was forced to resign under pressure over a series of alleged ethical lapses and North Korea's repeated war threats.
In February 2019, Kim was given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for attempting to sway public opinion using Cyber Command to support the Park administration.
External links.
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