Lee Nam-woo, former vice minister of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, is reportedly the leading candidate to become the next standing vice chairman of the Korea Defense Industry Association (KDIA). He has passed the Blue House personnel screening and is in the final stages of the process, with his appointment expected as early as July, according to sources.
According to reporting compiled by Seoul Economic Daily on Tuesday, the KDIA revised its articles of association, which when established in March had stipulated that only former Army lieutenant generals could be appointed standing vice chairman. The revision opened the position to candidates from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, the Ministry of National Defense, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, as well as civilian experts.
Under the revised articles, a recruitment process for the standing vice chairman post led the executive recommendation committee to nominate three candidates (one civilian and two from the military). Lee, who passed the employment review by the Government Public Ethics Committee and the Blue House personnel screening, has effectively been chosen for the position, according to sources.
The standing vice chairman post had been a source of controversy. The articles of association drawn up when the KDIA was established in 1976, during the era of military rule, stipulated that only former generals at the rank of Army lieutenant general (★★★) could be appointed. As a result, for the past 50 years the position was monopolized by Army figures, specifically graduates of the Korea Military Academy.
Critics had pointed out that reserve Army generals with no defense industry experience took the post and merely filled the seat for their three-year terms.
However, in step with the era of the first civilian defense minister in 64 years, the articles were revised to allow civilian experts to be appointed to a position monopolized by former Army generals for the past 50 years since the association's founding. If Lee takes office, he will be the first civilian to hold the post.
Lee served as the Ministry of National Defense's director-general for health and welfare, director-general for planning and management, and head of the personnel and welfare office, before serving as vice minister (Grade 1) of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
The standing vice chairman, on behalf of the non-standing chairman, represents the voices of the member defense companies and effectively oversees the KDIA. The term is three years.
First Civilian Expert to Take Standing Vice Chairman Post Since Founding
"This is a matter in which the KDIA should have opened up far sooner, through a revision of its articles, to civilian experts with high defense industry expertise rather than reserve Army lieutenant generals, in line with the era of a civilian defense minister," a defense industry official said. "The hiring of a civilian expert as standing vice chairman will serve as the foundation for K-defense to firmly establish itself as the world's fourth-largest player in the global market."
In addition, the KDIA also revised the article governing another standing position below the standing vice chairman — the executive director post, which only Navy brigadier generals (★) had held. The executive director position had likewise been fixed in the founding articles to be filled by a Navy brigadier general, and it was revised together to allow the appointment of a civilian expert.
However, with the first civilian expert being installed in the standing vice chairman post, the executive director position is reportedly likely to be filled by a Navy reserve figure.
The KDIA's board, comprising the chairman company (1), vice chairman companies (10), director companies (16), and auditor companies (2), decides on major issues such as revisions to the articles of association and recommendations for standing executives.
The KDIA, a specialized defense industry body, was established in 1976 with the aim of enhancing the competitiveness of the defense industry, promoting exports, conducting surveys and research on the defense industry, and fostering common interests and friendship among members. It has a total of 804 member companies, including 81 full members made up of government-designated defense companies and 723 associate members made up of defense-related companies.
Meanwhile, the KDIA, which has been mired in conflict for two years over a power struggle between the non-standing chairman and the standing executives, currently has two figures — the standing vice chairman, a former Army lieutenant general, and the executive director, a former Navy brigadier general — who have offered their resignations. One managing director from within the organization, who had been embroiled in misconduct allegations, also reached mandatory retirement, leaving the executive ranks vacant for the first time since the association's founding.
