Deputy CFC Chief Gen. Kim Seen as Next Army Chief of Staff KOREA TIME 980305 PAGE:03 SECTION:NATIONAL 570WORDS
With the inauguration of retired lieutenant general Cheon Yong-taek as new defense minister, attention is being focused on an "impendin g" reshuffle of the top brass of the Armed Forces. One of the top slots has been already taken by Lt. Gen. Park Chun-t aek, commander of Air Force operations, who was promoted to full gen eral and appointed to succeed Gen. Lee Kwang-hak as Air Force chief of staff Tuesday. A couple more prominent posts are yet to be filled. These include the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Army chief of staff and chief of Naval operations. The top level reshuffle wil l lead to a chain reaction of officer changes down through the ranks . Speculation has it that besides general qualifications like leaders hip, the reshuffle will witness the conspicuous advance of officers to senior posts from the Cholla-namdo province, the power center of President Kim Dae-jung. Credence could be lent to this speculation since the president as c ommander in chief would prefer to have his most trusted officers aro und him, considering the unique role of the Armed Forces in this cou ntry facing an entrenched enemy within a stone's throw. Traditionally, Koreans put their trust in people who share the same regional background or personal ties. It is a matter of course that President Kim downplayed this traditi onal custom by saying he would appoint people based upon merits, not personal ties. The new defense chief Cheon also indicated in a brie f meeting with defense correspondents yesterday that he would apply Kim's rule in the selection of his senior military staff. With these contradictory standards combined, a most plausible reshu ffle format would have it that Gen. Kim Dong-shin, deputy commander in chief of ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, would be a shoo-in as the new army chief of staff, which is seen as the anchorman of the A rmed Forces in charge of a 600,000-man Army. Gen. Kim has all the merits expected of a post holder besides being the only four-star general from the Cholla area, according to some military observers. A couple of candidates are being floated for the JCS chairman. One is Gen. Do Il-kyu, the current Army chief of staff, who is one year senior to Gen. Kim. Do is of the 20th Korea Military Academy cl ass, which was commissioned in 1964. Gen. Do has proved his leadership as a top Army man. He is from Seo ul, a regional alternative the administration could show as an examp le of its regional blindness in the selection of senior officers. Other candidates include Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Kwang-ha k, who is scheduled to retire tomorrow, and Gen. Kim Jin-ho, the 2nd Army commander, who joined the Army as an ROTC officer. Lee's nod was once seriously contemplated for political reasons. Bu t now the weight appears to be tipped in the favor of Gens. Do or Ki m. Military observers say there is little chance the incumbent JCS cha irman Gen. Yoon Yong-nam and Army chief Gen. Do will serve out their two-year terms that end in October, despite a campaign pledge by Pr esident Kim to guarantee the terms of senior military leaders. If the reshuffle is implemented shortly as expected, this would be a major change of guard affecting less senior posts before April, th e usual time when the military alters the ranking of its senior memb ers.