Why President Lee Jae-myung Refused Early Promotion for Colonel Cho Seong-hyun Amid National Crisis

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President Lee Jae-myung said he personally declined an early promotion that had been under consideration for Col. Cho Seong-hyun. Col. Cho, commander of the Capital Defense Command’s 1st Guard Unit, had been tasked with controlling the National Assembly during the Dec. 3 martial law period but ordered his troops not to cross Seogang Bridge.

On the afternoon of the 27th, Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter) about meeting Col. Cho for the first time. He wrote that although it was not Cho’s scheduled promotion time, officials had considered advancing him early; Cho, however, refused to accept a promotion before his designated time, and therefore was not elevated to general.

Lee said Col. Cho made it clear he would not accept a special promotion for simply doing what soldiers owe the public.

\”Out of respect for Col. Cho’s devotion to the people and the nation, we did not promote him,\” Lee said, asking for the public’s understanding and urging people to support and remember Col. Cho as a true soldier.

Earlier that day, following his first All-Service Major Commanders’ meeting since taking office, the president visited the command-and-control center and told Col. Cho he had wanted to meet him.