The commander of South Korea’s Marine Corps has assumed authority over personnel matters involving general-rank officers from the Navy, officials said Monday, marking a key step in President Lee Jae Myung’s push to expand the Marines’ autonomy.
According to the Navy and multiple military sources, the Navy chief of staff officially delegated disciplinary authority over Marine Corps general officers to the Marine Corps commander in December. In January, the authority was extended to recommending promotions and appointments to key posts for general-rank officers within the Marines.
Under the Armed Forces Organization Act, the Marine Corps is formally a branch of the Navy, placing ultimate command and personnel authority with the Navy chief of staff.
However, a 2011 amendment to the Military Personnel Management Act created a legal basis for delegating personnel authority to the Marine Corps commander, who is typically a three-star general and the highest-ranking officer in the service.
Following the amendment, most personnel authority was transferred to the Marine Corps. Matters involving general-rank officers, including promotions and disciplinary actions, remained under Navy control until the recent delegation.
Of the Navy chief’s 90 supervisory and administrative authorities over the Marine Corps — covering personnel, budgeting and military administration — 79 have so far been delegated, according to military officials.
The remaining 11 authorities retained by the Navy include commendation recommendations, proposals for vacant general-rank posts, and inspections and financial audits conducted by Navy headquarters.
A Navy official said the two newly delegated authorities were among those that did not require revisions to laws or regulations.
“The remaining authorities require amendments to statutes, directives or internal regulations, and we are coordinating with the Defense Ministry,” the official said. “Our goal is to complete the delegation process within this year.”
The restructuring comes as part of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s broader agenda to establish a so-called “quasi four-service” system that keeps the Marine Corps under the Navy, while granting its commander authority comparable to that of the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs of staff.
In December, the ministry outlined plans to return operational control of the Marine Corps’ 1st Division from the Army to the Marine Corps within this year, with the 2nd Division to follow by 2028 — authority that the Army had long exercised under South Korea’s ground-operations–centered command structure, shaped by tensions with North Korea.
The government is also reportedly reviewing whether Marine Corps officers could be promoted to the rank of four-star general.
Such promotions may lead to appointments to existing four-star posts, such as deputy commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command or chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Four-star generals from the Army, Navy and Air Force have traditionally held such positions.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
