The Ministry of National Defense nominated Lt. Gen. Sung Il-hwan as the new Air Force chief of staff on Monday,

Sung has served as commander of the Air Force Education and Training Command and superintendent of the Air Force Academy.

Ministry officials said that President Lee Myung-bak will appoint him the new Air Force chief of staff after Cabinet approval on Tuesday.

Outgoing chief of staff Park Jong-heon has held the post since 2010.

The new chief of staff exhibits strong leadership and is highly qualified in a variety of fields including military strategy, operation and training, they said.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)