Minister of National Defense An Gyu-baek stated on the 25th during his inaugural speech, "From today onward, the Ministry of National Defense and the military will break away from the past, consumed as tools of the state of emergency, and will become a 'military for the people' dedicated to protecting the nation and its citizens."
During the inauguration ceremony held at the Ministry of National Defense building, Minister An said, "We will break away from the inertia and practices of the past and follow the principle of civilian control, while recovering the honor of our uniforms by overcoming past wounds." Minister An was inaugurated as the first civilian Minister of National Defense since former Minister Hyun Seok-ho resigned shortly after the May 16 military coup in 1961.
Minister An identified the goal as 'nurturing an advanced armed force that the people trust.' He emphasized that to achieve this objective, "We will rebuild the military as a force for the people where true defense is realized," noting, "The illegal state of emergency declared on December 3 undermined the reason for the military's existence and damaged the trust of the people and the honor of the uniform, so we must meticulously advance defense reform to restore the wounded pride of the military and respond to crises as timely as possible."
Minister An also mentioned strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance and global defense cooperation. He stated, "I will expand cooperation so that the Korea-U.S. alliance can develop in a direction that aligns with our national interest as a comprehensive strategic alliance globally," and added, "We will deepen Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation and strengthen global ties to broaden the horizons of defense cooperation."
He also expressed the commitment to realizing 'a strong defense industry in South Korea.' Minister An remarked, "The defense industry is the source of military power that enables 'peace through strength,'" and stated, "I will create a defense industry ecosystem where the public, private sector, and military coexist to ensure that the defense industry becomes a new growth engine contributing to the national economy and people's livelihoods," adding that he would complement this with a flexible defense acquisition and research and development system.
He also mentioned improving the treatment of military personnel and building advanced defense capabilities with artificial intelligence.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by officials from the Ministry of National Defense, Army Chief of Staff Kim Myung-soo, commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, Combined Forces Deputy Commander Kang Shin-cheol, and Defense Acquisition Program Administration Commissioner Seok Jong-geon. From the U.S. side, Xavier Brunson, the commander of the United States Forces Korea, attended.