Suh Wook
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Suh Wook (; 12 May 1963), also known as Seo Wook, is a former
Minister of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...
served under President
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...
from 2020 to 2022. He is President Moon's first defense minister with an Army background, as his predecessors came from other branches of the
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
. Upon the beginning of Moon's presidency in 2017, he was reshuffled to
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...
where he served as its chief director of operation before promoted as
Chief of Army Staff Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...
in 2019. From 2011 to 2014 Suh served at
ROK-US Combined Forces Command ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) is a joint warfighting headquarters comprising the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and United States Forces Korea. It was established in 1978. During wartime it would serve as the operational command headquart ...
. He then served as commanding general of the First Corps from 2016 to 2017. Suh is a
Korea Military Academy Korea Military Academy (KMA) is the leading South Korean institution for the education and training of officer cadets for the Republic of Korea Army. Along with the Korea Army Academy (Yeongcheon), it produces the largest number of senior offi ...
graduate and holds two degrees - a master's in military strategy from the
Korea National Defense University Korea National Defense University () is a national university located in Nonsan, South Korea. It was founded in 1955. It got its current configuration in 2000. The university was situated in Seoul from its founding until its relocation to Nons ...
and a doctorate in political science from
Kyungnam University Kyungnam University () is a private university in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The university has six colleges, including Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences, Education, Economics and Commerce, Law and Politics, and Engineering col ...
. Suh was arrested on October 22, 2022, due to covering up facts in the killing of Lee Dae-jun, a South Korean fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers. The
Democratic Party of Korea Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
claims the arrest of Suh and Kim Hong-hee who was the Coast Guard chief, are believed to be politically motivated charges. However the government says that there was evidence that the incident was mishandled by officials at the time. Some sources say that the two may have also abused power during the incident. Suh is a Catholic.


Effective dates of promotion


References

, - People from Gwangju Korea Military Academy alumni Chiefs of staff of the Army (South Korea) Living people 1963 births Kyungnam University alumni National defense ministers of South Korea South Korean Roman Catholics Wook {{SouthKorea-mil-bio-stub