Playing Golf During North Korea Crises: Admiral Kim’s Problematic Past Amidst Joint Chiefs Nomination

The nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Kim Myung Soo, has addressed the controversies surrounding him.

On the 15th, Kim appeared before the National Defense Committee’s personnel hearing at the National Assembly.

He first admitted and apologized for his child’s past school violence issue.

Kim said, “I deeply apologize to the students and parents involved in my child’s school violence. Our family did not recognize it as school violence, so they did not tell me it was school violence, and I also said there was none.”

Kim’s daughter, when she was a second-year middle school student in May 2012, committed violence against another classmate in the school bathroom with five other classmates. The child received a written apology to the victim sanction from the School Violence Countermeasures Committee.

Kim stated, “I understand that the matter was concluded with the victim accepting a sincere apology.”

There are more controversies surrounding him.

During his recent three-year tenure, Kim traded stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) dozens of times, including on January 5th and 17th last year, coinciding with North Korea’s firing of ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

Also, when North Korea launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) last year, he played golf at a military golf course. This could be a problem regarding his qualifications as a public official.

Kim said, “I was working as the director of the Defense Reform Office at the time,” and, “I think I was late in recognizing the situation because I was not in an operational position. I admit that I made a mistake.”

Kim graduated top of his class from the Naval Academy 43rd class. He received a presidential commendation in April 2012 for his first detection of North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong 3 launch vehicle.