Kim Myung-soo (Korean: 김명수; born 1967), is a South Korean Navy admiral who has been serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Yoon Suk Yeol since 25 November 2023. Prior to his appointment, Kim was named as commander of the Republic of Korea Fleet, Superintendent of the Korea Naval Academy, and as Commander of the 1st Fleet.^[1]

Quick Facts Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President ...

Kim Myung-soo
김명수
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 November 2023
President	Yoon Suk Yeol
Preceded by	Kim Seung-kyum
Personal details
Born	1967 (age 56–57)
Nationality	South Korean
Alma mater	Korea Naval Academy (B.S) Kookmin University (PhD)
Military service
Allegiance	South Korea
Branch/service	Republic of Korea Navy
Years of service	1989-Present
Rank	Admiral
Commands	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Republic of Korea Fleet Vice Chief of Naval Operations Korea Naval Academy 1st Fleet Maritime Operations Center ROKS Sejong the Great (DDG-991)

Close

Kim attended high school in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang. He graduated from the Korea Naval Academy Class 43 in 1989 at the top of his class and received the Presidential Award for his accomplishments. In 2014, he received his PhD in political science and international relations from Kookmin University. ^{[1] [2]}

After graduating from the Naval Academy, he commissioned as Ensign in 1989. In 1990, he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. In 2009, during his time as Captain and as the commanding officer of the ROKS Sejong the Great (DDG-991), Kim utilized his expertise and skills in missile detection and tracking as he carried out missile detection missions for the first detection of the launch of North Korea’s Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 launcher on 13 April 2012. In the same month, he received the Presidential Personal Commendation for this accomplishment.^[3]

Kim also served as the Chief of the 2nd Operations Division at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters in November 2015, as the Commander of the Maritime Battle Group 2, which serves under the 2nd Fleet, in October 2016, and as Director of the Maritime Operations Center in January 2018. Kim was later named as the Commander of the 1st Fleet in December 2018, before being named as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Intelligence and Operations in November 2019. On May 2020, Kim was named as the Superintendent of the Korea Naval Academy, and was named as Director in the Foreign Intelligence Directorate at the Korea Defense Industry Association on December 2020.^[4]

Kim was named as the Director General in the Defense Management Reform Bureau at the Ministry of National Defense on December 2021, before serving as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations on June 2022 to December 2022.^[1] On December 2022, Kim was named as the Commander of the Republic of Korea Fleet.^[4]

• Presidential Personal Commendation (2012)^[3]