Shin Won-sik

Shin Won-sik (, born 24 July 1958) is a South Korean politician, retired army lieutenant general and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He held the position of Minister of National Defense within the cabinet of President Yoon Suk Yeol from 7 October 2023 until 9 September 2024. He was 8th director of the South Korean National Security Bureau from 12 August 2024 until 4 June 2025.

Biography He was born in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

Military career Shin graduated from the 37th class of the Korea Military Academy in 1981. On 24 October 1985, a private from the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment, 8th Division of the Army, of which Captain Shin Won-sik was the company commander at the time, was killed in a training accident. At the time, the military reported that it was caused by unexploded ordnance. A later reinvestigation by the Presidential Military Network Accident Investigation Commission found that the accident was caused by a misfired bullet. From 2012 to 2013, he served as the commanding general of the Capital Defense Command, in charge of defending Seoul.

Political career In 2020, Shin was elected as a member of the 21st National Assembly of the Republic of Korea for the Future Korea Party, which later merged into the United Future Party (now the People Power Party). On 13 September 2023, President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated Shin as a candidate for the Minister of National Defense. Shin is considered a hawk in South Korean foreign policy towards North Korea, having criticized his country's Sunshine Policy. His nomination was confirmed on 7 October 2023. Since 12 August 2024, he is the current 8th director of the South Korean Office of National Security. Until his successor takes up his duties, he temporarily serves as Chief of Security and Minister of Defence. There is a precedent for such a case of Kim Kwan-jin (former Defense Minister of Lee Myung-Bak and Park Geun-hye who held both positions from 1 to 29 June 2014).