SBS's investigative journalism department's "Pandas to the End" team reported on the military service of high-ranking officials of the Yoon Suk-yeol government's presidential office at level 2 and above on two occasions last year. For convenience, the five-chief system with two offices has been divided into the "Office of the President for the first term" and the "Office of the President for the second term" after the reorganization of the system with two directors and six chiefs in August last year. Following the high-ranking officials in the "1st Presidential Office", we will also analyze the military service history of the "2nd Presidential Office" on the occasion of the 5st anniversary of President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration.


1st Term: National Guard 27% Military Exemption 21% Sergeant Maturity 19%

However, in the last two reports, I found that the military service details of Culture and Sports Secretary Yoo Byung-chae (now returned to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) were missing. Mr. Yoo served as an officer in the Air Force for three years before retiring as a second lieutenant. Therefore, the statistics of military service of high-ranking officials of the "Office of the President of the First Term" were also slightly revised. Of the 2 high-ranking government officials of the first rank and above, 3 military service has been disclosed, excluding women. The largest number of transitional forms of military service are 1 (1.54%) "National Guardsmen", including non-commissioned personnel. The following were 48 personnel (13 sick, 27 sentenced / 1.10%) who were effectively exempted from the military, and 7 (3.20%) were discharged from the rank of sergeant. Seven (8.9%) came from the Army and Air Force, including former Secretary Yoo. Three (18.8%) were currently generals or had been discharged from the military, followed by three (7.14%). Although they are officers, there were 6 (3.6%) from master's officers who retired at the same time as they were commissioned, and 2 (3.6%) was from industrial technical personnel.


The biggest change in the "Office of the President for the Second Term" is that with the establishment of a two-headed six-chief system, the number of high-ranking officials at level 2 and above has increased to 2. The name of the position also changed little by little, and there was a change of new faces in 4 positions. Among the 2 members, we will analyze the military service patterns of 1 (as of May 2), excluding two positions that are still vacant (social sympathy secretary and new media secretary), four women (Kim Eun-hye, Jeon Hee-kyung, Kang In-sun, and Cho Sung-kyung), and one (Yoon Oh-joon) whose military service is not disclosed because he is a member of the NIS. Former education secretary Seol Se-hoon (current deputy superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education), who was replaced before we even analyze it, will be counted separately from the overall statistics.


Term 2: Military exemption rose slightly to 22% (11 people)... Jeon Kwangseng · Kim Yong-jin, exempt from illness


Among the high-ranking officials in the "Office of the President in the second term," 2 (11.21%) were exempted from the military, a slight increase from the 6 in the "Office of the President in the first term." There were 1 personnel (10.5%) who were judged to be "Level 9 wartime laborers" due to illness. "Level 17 wartime service" is technically different from "Level 7 exemption from military service", but since personnel are only mobilized in war situations, it is effectively accepted as a military exemption. While seven people, including Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Agency, and Choo Jin-woo, the legal secretary, remained in their positions, civic communication secretary Jeon Kwang-sam and external cooperation secretary Kim Yong-jin were added after being judged to be "fifth-level wartime laborers" due to lumbar disc herniation and myopia, respectively.

In particular, Secretary Jeon Kwang-sam changed the first-level judgment to the fifth-level judgment through a complicated process. In 5, he was judged to be eligible for enlistment in the 6st class "Active Duty Soldiers," but in 1 his enlistment date was postponed due to other reasons. After that, they were judged to be 'entering and going home' twice. In September and December 7, respectively, I was "sent home after enlistment" under the pretext of being "eligible for re-enlistment" and "subject to re-physical examination." Eventually, in February 5, the former secretary was confirmed as a "fifth-class wartime laborer" due to illness. The former secretary revealed, "I pushed back my enlistment date once because I was doing three moves, and then I was accepted into the Military Academy and was admitted, but I injured my back during training and was discharged." He also explained, "He was judged to have returned home twice at the replenishment unit, and in the end, he was judged to be level 1 through a re-physical examination."

Military exemptions due to prison sentences (prisoners) were recorded at 5 (1986.1%). Han Oh-sup, head of the State Affairs Situation Office, and Choi Cheol-kyu, secretary for national unity, were subject to "exemption from call-up" due to their prison sentences. It is understood that he was sentenced to prison for his student activism.


2 prayers in the form of "National Guards" up to 39%... 20 people, including Cho Tae-yong, the head of the National Security Office


Among the high-ranking officials in the "Office of the President for the second term", the most common type of military service is the "National Guard". There were 2 people (20.39%), including social security personnel (formerly public service workers). That's an addition of 3 people from the existing 1 members of the "Office of the President in the first term."

Cho Tae-yong, the chief of the National Security Office, was discharged as a second class soldier after six months in the army because he was a "reader." Policy Coordination Secretary Park Sung-taek and National Proposal Secretary Chung Yong-wook also served in the army for six months because of the family's only son, "Reader." Lee Kwan-sup, chief of government planning, Kim Seung-hee, protocol secretary, Yeon Won-jeong, personnel system secretary, Hwang Sung-woon, culture and sports secretary, and Lee Chung-myeon, foreign affairs secretary, were "demobilized for expiration of service" as private or corporal, respectively, after serving for about 13~7 months, instead of being "discharged from the service" as a sergeant.

It is noticeable that the most senior positions in the presidential office, which is a two-chamber six-chief system, are both from the National Guard, including Chief of Staff Kim Ki-yong and Director of the National Security Office Cho Tae-yong. Four of the six chiefs (Lee Kwan-seop, Lee Jin-bok, Choi Sang-mok, and Ahn Sang-hoon) are also from the National Guard, minus Kim Eun-hye, who is a woman, and Kang Seung-kyu, a civil society chief who is a full-time sergeant.


The sergeant's expiration date is all 9 people as it is ... More than half of all officers


Although the number of positions in the President's Office has increased to 1st class and above, the number of sergeants in the 1nd term is 2, as it was in the 9st term. The denominator increased, but the numerator remained the same, so the percentage decreased even further to 17.6%. In addition to the existing five, including civil society chief Kang Seung-kyu, four new members were added: Jang Kyung-sang, second secretary for political affairs, Lee Do-woon, health and welfare secretary Ko Young-young, and education secretary Oh Seok-hwan.

The number of former officers decreased from 5 in the "2st President's Office" to 4 (1.7%) in the "2nd President's Office". In addition to the previous Secretary for Security Strategy and Secretary for Public Affairs and Discipline Si-won Lee, Agriculture and Maritime Affairs Secretary Park Beom-so retired as a lieutenant in the Air Force. There are 3 (5.9%) active generals or former generals, and the number remains the same. In place of former Second Deputy Chief of Staff Shin In-ho, the current Second Deputy Chief of Staff Lim Jong-suk took his place. The three positions of the second deputy secretary and the secretary of defense under the second deputy chief of staff, and the director of the National Crisis Management Center, continue to be held by former professional military personnel.


In another special case, Kim Yoon-il, the future policy secretary, retired as a second lieutenant in the army using the "master officer" system. The "Master Officer" system, which was called "Special Specialist Personnel," was selected from among those with a master's degree and discharged at the same time as they were commissioned with the rank of so-called after six months of military training. So, on paper, the period of service is 'only one day'. There were 3 (5.9%) "medical veterans" who were injured and discharged. They include Chang Sung-min, Minister of Future Strategic Planning, Baek Won-guk, Secretary of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Kang Kyung-sung, who served for five years as an industrial functionary, and Lee Sang-sung, International Legal Secretary, who served for three years as a public interest legal officer.

(The rest of the story is from the soup)