▲ Vice-President Seok-Jong Bu and the Naval Command took the oath at the Naval State Audit last October.
In the second half of the year, the appointment of generals under three stars is expected to be finally carried out this week.
Yesterday (6th), each military reported a personnel plan to the defense minister, and today the Blue House personnel committee finally approved it, several military officials confirmed.
The announcement is likely around the 9th.
The second half of the greeting, which is usually held in October, has been delayed by nearly two months.
The general opinion of the military is that the cause of the two-month delay in the appointment of generals was that they did not make a cool decision to replace the naval chief of staff.
Finally, the change of the Naval Chief of Staff has been settled, and as a result, three-star or lower personnel will be implemented in the second half of the year.
According to the schedule of the State Council, the appointment of the Chief of Naval Chief of Staff will be held next week after the three-star or lower personnel are appointed.
The issue that draws the most attention in this delayed and complicated appointment is "Who will be the next Chief of Naval Staff?"
The candidates have been narrowed down to two, and all of them are from Honam.
It is a message that even the ruling party's presidential campaign is said to be "burdened" for fear of criticism for using the so-called 'albakgi' at the end of the regime.
It also takes a while that while the current Chief of Staff, Buseok-jong, who has four months left in his term, is trying to save the light aircraft carrier budget, the candidates have been fighting for the position of the next president.
Above all, the candidates have great personalities, but there are blemishes in their careers, so controversies are inevitable regardless of who they are.
Is it Mokpo's 'three consecutive term system'?
Kim Jung-soo, deputy chief of the navy, is the first priority for the next president selected by senior military officials as well as the Ministry of National Defense as Lee Gu Dong-seong.
Born in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, he is the 41st class junior at the Naval Academy rather than the current president, Seok-jong Buh.
It is known as the Navy's Park Ji-won line, since his hometown is Mokpo.
Admiral Kim Jung-soo has a unique history.
This is the second consecutive tenure promotion.
Term promotion is a system in which those who cannot be promoted to the relevant rank are promoted for a certain period of time.
At the end of his term, he is discharged.
However, only in this administration, Admiral Kim Jung-su was promoted to the tenure system as deputy chief of staff, following the chief of the planning and management staff.
Although not all generals have been promoted to three consecutive terms, there is no precedent for advancing to the rank of Chief of Staff through three consecutive tenure promotions.
If Admiral Jeong-su Kim is promoted to the three-term system after being promoted to the three-term system after being promoted to the three-term system following the two-year term system after being the head of the planning and management staff and the deputy chief of staff for the tenure system, the regional background of Mokpo will inevitably become more prominent.
The lack of experience as a fleet commander is also a weakness.
Is it Yeosu's 'Yeonjeong Line'?
The second candidate for the next president is Kim Hyun-il, the head of the Naval Academy.
I am from Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, and I am the 42nd Naval Academy.
He received his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Political Science and International Relations at Yonsei University.
He is a representative of the military in the so-called Yeonjeong (Yonsei University Department of Political Science and International Relations) line, chaired by Moon Jeong-in, former special adviser for unification, foreign affairs and security.
Naturally, the coalition line strongly supports it.
Admiral Kim Jung-soo has never served as a fleet commander, but Admiral Kim Hyun-il has neither experience of commander of a fleet nor of naval headquarters general experience.
A history of not being a fleet commander or headquarter commander is a major handicap.
Nevertheless, it is known that former Defense Minister Song Young-moo and politicians from Yeosu, who say they have a strong influence on the navy, are known to push it, so its competitiveness is not formidable.
Since Defense Minister Seo Wook (Gwangju) and Air Force Chief of Staff Inho Park (Gimje, Jeollabuk-do) are from Honam, it is difficult for him to have a Honam native even as the Naval Chief of Staff.
But if the Navy Chief of Staff is replaced now, there is no other way.
This is because 3 out of 4 Navy 3 star admirals are from Honam due to biased personnel.
Will it be replaced when the light carrier cut wave has been crossed?
It seems that this is the last chance to be appointed Chief of Staff in the current government, so the fight between the two candidates is fierce.
A key official of the Ministry of National Defense said, "There are more malicious reports about candidates than ever before."
In the midst of a battle for the position of the next naval chief of staff, the budget for the light carrier project, the long-cherished dream of the navy, died and came to life.
Although it is almost impossible to revive the budget cut by the ruling and opposition parties at the National Assembly Standing Committee, Vice-Chancellor of the Chief of Staff Suk-jong Vice President of the National Assembly pushed his will to promote the light aircraft carrier alone, paving the way for the revival of the light aircraft carrier business.
For this reason, the opinion that the statutory term of the Chief of Staff Vice President Seok-jong should be guaranteed until April next year to promote the stable departure of the light aircraft carrier project.
An official in the security field of the ruling party's presidential campaign said, "A four-star person at the end of the government is an adventure that brings swearing. Moreover, it is not very reluctant to replace the current president of Bi-Honam, who has a remaining term of office, with someone from Honam who has flaws." .