President Moon Jae-in replaced the chief of the state defense procurement agency Monday as he accelerates a drive to reform the big government spender accused of corruption.

Jeon Jei-guk, a former defense ministry official, was named to head the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

The 64-year-old served various posts at the defense ministry since joining the ministry in 1980.


His appointment comes amid continued efforts by the new president to eradicate what he once called deep-rooted corruption in the defense industry.

Jeon's predecessor, Chang Myoung-jin, resigned last month after coming under scrutiny for his earlier decision to deploy a locally developed utility helicopter despite its well-documented defects.

The developer of the Surion helicopter, Korea Aerospace Industries Co., is now under a prosecution investigation on the suspicion of making excessive profits from the development project by inflating its costs.

Chang also faces an imminent prosecution investigation over suspicions of misappropriation and breach of trust.

The latest personnel reshuffle included the appointment of three other vice ministerial-level officials.

They included Cho Jong-mook, who was named the new head of the National Fire Agency, and Kim Jong-jin, the new head of the Cultural Heritage Administration.

The rest was Park Ky-young, who was named the new chief of the Science, Technology and Innovation Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, according to Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap)