Top operations commander named new Navy chief

▲ This file photo taken Feb. 12, 2026, and provided by the Navy, shows vice admiral Kim Kyung-ryul (L), who was named as the new Navy chief on March 23. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Navy chief-nomination

Top operations commander named new Navy chief

SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) -- The defense ministry on Monday named Vice Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul as the new Navy chief, days after the former top officer offered to resign over his alleged involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid in late 2024.

Kim, 55, was tapped as the new chief of naval operations to replace Adm. Kang Dong-gil, according to the ministry. Kim is currently commander of the Republic of Korea Fleet, the country's leading naval operations unit.

Kim will be promoted to the rank of admiral to serve in his new role. He is expected to be formally appointed by President Lee Jae Myung following deliberation at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The move comes after the defense ministry decided to impose "heavy" disciplinary action against the former navy chief earlier this month over his alleged involvement in the martial law debacle.

Kang is alleged to have instructed his subordinate to support the establishment of the martial law command on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, when he served as chief of the directorate of military support at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He offered to resign on March 4, shortly after the ministry reportedly suspended him for one month over the allegations.

The deputy chief of the Navy has been filling in for Kang since Kang's exclusion from duty on Feb. 13.

In announcing the nomination, the defense ministry said Kim was fitted with the "operational command capabilities" and "military expertise" to firmly safeguard maritime sovereignty under the current security conditions surrounding the Korean Peninsula and instability in the global security environment.

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