Kim Kwan-jin


Kim Kwan-jin is Chief of The National Security Office in South Korea, following his appointment in the year of 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.

Education

Kim previously served as Commanding General, 35th Infantry Division, Commanding General, II Corps, and Chief Director, Joint Operations Headquarters, Joint Chiefs of Staff. 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.