Yoon appoints new JCS chief

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the appointment of new Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Myung-soo on Saturday, officials said, making him the first top-ranking military officer to come from the Navy in a decade.

According to the presidential office and the JCS, Naval Operations Commander Vice Adm. Kim was appointed as the new JCS chief without a confirmation report from the National Assembly.

Kim underwent a parliamentary confirmation hearing earlier this month but failed to win the approval of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which raised accusations that Kim had traded stock during working hours and played golf when North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The DP also took issue with allegations Kim's daughter was involved in a school bullying case 11 years ago, claiming the daughter was one of six perpetrators who inflicted violence but received the lightest penalty.

It is the first time in 10 years that a Navy officer has been appointed to the top military post since Adm. Choi Yoon-hee served as the JCS chairman from 2013 to 2015.

By law, the National Assembly is required to complete a confirmation hearing and send the president a report within 20 days of a hearing demand being made.

If parliament fails to issue a report on the confirmation hearing over the period, the president may ask the National Assembly to again try and do so over an additional period of up to 10 days.

As parliament failed to issue a report before the requested deadline of Friday, Yoon appointed Kim without a parliamentary report, making him the 20th ministerial-level official the president has appointed without a confirmation report. (Yonhap)