Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army

The Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army (CSA; Korean: 대한민국 육군참모총장; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍參謀總長), is the head of the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA). The position has existed since the founding of the ROKA in 1948, and was originally held by a Lt. General, then by a General since 1968.

Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army
대한민국 육군참모총장
Flag of the Chief of Staff
Incumbent General Park An-su since 31 October 2023
Ministry of National Defense
Abbreviation	CSA
Member of	Joint Chiefs of Staff
Reports to	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Appointer	The President
Formation	January 15, 1946 (1946-01-15)
First holder	Won Yong-deok

The appointment of the CSA, along with the Chief of Naval Operations, Chiefs of Staff of the Air Force and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is referred to the State Council of South Korea for deliberation according to Article 89, Constitution of South Korea.

List of Chiefs

Commander of the Army

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Lieutenant general Won Yong-deok (1908–1968)	15 January 1946	13 December 1946	332 days	–
2		Brigadier general Song Ho-seong (1889–1959)	13 December 1946	20 November 1948	1 year, 343 days	–
3		Lieutenant general Lee Eung-jun (1890–1985)	20 November 1948	15 December 1948	25 days	–

Chief of Staff of the Army

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff of the Army	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Major general Lee Eung-jun (1890–1985)	15 December 1948	8 May 1949	144 days
2		Major general Chae Byong-duk (1916–1950)	9 May 1949	30 September 1949	144 days
3		Major general Shin Tae-young (1891–1959)	1 October 1949	9 April 1950	190 days
4		Major general Chae Byong-duk (1916–1950)	10 April 1950	29 June 1950	80 days
5		Major general Chung Il-kwon (1917–1994)	30 June 1950	22 June 1951	357 days
6		Major general Lee Jong-chan (1916–1983)	23 June 1951	22 July 1952	1 year, 29 days
7		Lieutenant general Paik Sun-yup (1920–2020)	23 July 1952	13 February 1954	1 year, 205 days
8		General Chung Il-kwon (1917–1994)	14 February 1954	26 June 1956	2 years, 133 days
9		General Lee Hyung-geun (1920–2002)	27 June 1956	17 May 1957	324 days
10		General Paik Sun-yup (1920–2020)	18 May 1957	22 February 1959	1 year, 280 days
Int.		General Lee Hyung-geun (1920–2002)	23 February 1959	6 August 1959	164 days
11		Lieutenant general Song Yo-chan (1918–1980)	7 August 1959	22 May 1960	289 days
12		Lieutenant general Choi Young-hee (1921–2006)	23 May 1960	28 August 1960	97 days
13		Lieutenant general Choi Gyeong-rok (1920–2002)	29 August 1960	16 February 1961	171 days
14		Lieutenant general Chang Do-yong (1923–2012)	17 February 1961	5 June 1961	108 days
15		General Kim Jong-oh (1921–1966)	6 June 1961	31 May 1963	1 year, 359 days
16		General Min Gi-sik (1921–1998)	1 June 1963	31 March 1965	1 year, 303 days
17		General Kim Yong-bae (1923–2006)	1 April 1965	1 September 1966	1 year, 153 days
18		General Kim Gye-won (1923–2016)	2 September 1966	31 August 1969	2 years, 363 days
19		General Seo Jong-chul (1924–2010)	1 September 1969	1 June 1972	2 years, 274 days
20		General Roh Jae-hyun (1926–2019)	2 June 1972	28 February 1975	2 years, 271 days
21		General Lee Se-ho (1925–2013)	1 March 1975	31 January 1979	3 years, 336 days
22		General Jeong Seung-hwa (1929–2002)	1 February 1979	12 December 1979	314 days
23		General Lee Hui-seong (1924–2022)	13 December 1979	15 December 1981	2 years, 2 days
24		General Hwang Young-si (1926–2022)	16 December 1981	15 December 1983	1 year, 364 days
25		General Chung Ho-yong (born 1932)	16 December 1983	15 December 1985	1 year, 364 days
26		General Park Hee-do (born 1934)	16 December 1985	11 June 1988	2 years, 178 days
27		General Lee Jong-gu (born 1935)	12 June 1988	10 June 1990	1 year, 363 days
28		General Lee Jin-sam (born 1937)	11 June 1990	5 December 1991	1 year, 177 days
29		General Kim Jin-young (born 1938)	6 December 1991	8 March 1993	1 year, 92 days
30		General Kim Dong-jin (born 1938)	9 March 1993	26 December 1994	1 year, 292 days
31		General Yoon Yong-nam (1940–2021)	27 December 1994	18 October 1996	1 year, 296 days
32		General Do Il-gyu (born 1940)	19 October 1996	27 March 1998	1 year, 159 days
33		General Kim Dong-shin (born 1941)	28 March 1998	2 October 1999	1 year, 188 days
34		General Gil Hyeong-bo (born 1942)	3 October 1999	12 October 2001	2 years, 9 days
35		General Kim Pan-gyu (born 1943)	13 October 2001	6 April 2003	1 year, 175 days
36		General Nam Jae-jun (born 1944)	7 April 2003	7 April 2005	2 years, 0 days
37		General Kim Jang-soo (born 1948)	7 April 2005	7 November 2006	1 year, 214 days
38		General Park Heung-ryeol (born 1949)	17 November 2006	21 March 2008	1 year, 125 days
39		General Lim Choung-bin (born 1950)	21 March 2008	21 September 2009	1 year, 184 days
40		General Han Min-goo (born 1951)	21 September 2009	18 June 2010	270 days
41		General Hwang Ui-don (born 1953)	18 June 2010	14 December 2010	179 days
42		General Kim Sang-ki (born 1952)	16 December 2010	11 October 2012	1 year, 300 days
43		General Cho Jung-hwan (born 1955)	11 October 2012	28 September 2013	352 days
44		General Kwon Oh-sung (born 1955)	28 September 2013	11 August 2014	317 days
45		General Kim Yo-hwan (born 1956)	11 August 2014	17 September 2015	1 year, 37 days
46		General Jang Jun-kyu (born 1957)	17 September 2015	11 August 2017	1 year, 328 days
47		General Kim Yong-woo (born 1961)	11 August 2017	16 April 2019	1 year, 248 days
48		General Suh Wook (born 1962)	16 April 2019	18 September 2020	1 year, 155 days
49		General Nam Yeong-shin (born 1962)	23 September 2020	27 May 2022	1 year, 246 days
50		General Park Jeong-hwan (born 1966)	27 May 2022	31 October 2023	1 year, 157 days
51		General Park An-su (born 1968)	31 October 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 14 days

See also

• Joint Chiefs of Staff (South Korea)
  • Chief of Naval Operations (South Korea)
  • Chief of Staff of the Air Force (South Korea)
• Republic of Korea Army
• Republic of Korea Armed Forces
• South Korea