President Yoon Suk Yeol is considering replacing the second deputy national security adviser and the presidential secretary for defense as early as this month due to "personnel needs," an official said Monday.
Lim Jong-deuk, the deputy national security adviser in charge of defense and security issues, and Lim Ki-hoon, presidential secretary for national defense, could be replaced as soon as mid-September, the presidential official told Yonhap News Agency, denying speculation it was related to the ongoing controversy over the death of a young Marine during a search operation for victims of downpours in July.
The deputy national security adviser is reportedly under consideration for vice defense minister, while the presidential secretary, an Army major general, is expected to return to the Army.
As Lim's replacement for deputy national security adviser, In Sung-hwan, former president of the Joint Forces Military University, is reportedly under consideration. In previously worked in the U.S. policy division of the defense ministry and at the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
Source: Yonhap News Agency