Revised law allows disciplinary action against JCS chairman, Army chief

▲ In this file photo, former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su (C), who served as the main commander for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid, responds to lawmakers' inquiry during a parliamentary audit meeting on Feb. 21, 2025. (Yonhap)

top military officers-disciplinary action

Revised law allows disciplinary action against JCS chairman, Army chief

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Army chief of staff could be slapped with disciplinary action as a revised law allows a disciplinary committee to be formed with officers with lower rank than them, the defense ministry said Friday.

The National Assembly passed the revision to the Military Personnel Management Act on Thursday, according to the ministry.

The revised act will allow the defense minister to establish a disciplinary committee with more than three generals when there is a need to punish the JCS chairman and the Army chief of staff.

A military disciplinary committee is meant to comprise more than three military officers who hold higher rank than those subject to punishment. In case of the same rank, military officers who were commissioned or promoted faster than them could sit on the committee.

Currently, the JCS chairman and the Army chief could not be punished as they outrank other four-star generals, including the chiefs of the Navy and Air Force.

The revision came as former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as the main commander operating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid in late 2024, was discharged from the military without disciplinary measures.

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