Defense minister nominee Kang Shin-chul reports for first day: 'I will fulfill the mission given to me'

Defense minister nominee Kang Shin-chul reported for his first day of work Thursday morning at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the Defense Convention Center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival, Kang introduced himself as "Kang Shin-chul, nominee for defense minister of the Republic of Korea" and said he felt "a weight that words cannot express." "I will fulfill the mission given to me," he added.

Asked whether the transfer of wartime operational control could be completed within the government's target timeline — with the Security Consultative Meeting roughly a month away — Kang said the transfer was possible precisely because of the South Korea-US alliance. "If the alliance did not exist, the very concept of a wartime OPCON transfer would not exist," he said.

On the backlash from military academy alumni over plans to consolidate the service academies, Kang acknowledged that "various opinions and concerns exist" and said he believed they all stemmed from a love of the military. "I will ensure that outstanding talent is nurtured," he said.

When pressed on whether the consolidation policy would be withdrawn, Kang said that regardless of what the academies looked like in the past, where they were located or what they were called, they had always been South Korea's academies. "The military academy of the future will belong to no one other than the Republic of Korea," he said.

Kang's confirmation hearing before the National Assembly is scheduled for Sept. 16.