Boo Suk-jong (; born 8 January 1964) is a former South Korean

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

who served as its

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

under President

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...

from 2020 to 2021. He is the first Jeju Island native to lead the Navy. Before being promoted to the head of Navy in 2020, Boo had served at

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

as head of its Military Support Center from November 2018.

Military career

He graduated from the

Korea Naval Academy Republic of Korea Naval Academy is a four-year military academy located in Jinhae, South Korea. Established in 1946, it is the oldest of the 3 service academies of Korea. The school educates naval midshipmen for commissioning primarily into the ...

in March 1985, and mostly served his career within the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy in ...

. He completed various courses locally and abroad, having completed a master's degree program on Business Administration at

Kyungnam University Kyungnam University (경남대학교; 慶南大學校) is a private university in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The university has six colleges (Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences, Education, Economics and Commerce, Law and Politi ...

in 2001, and completed staff courses at the Malaysian Armed Forces Command and Staff College in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

from 1998 to 1999, and at the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

Fort Lesley J. McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Cha ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 2005. He was promoted to

Sowi (; ) is the rank held by company-grade officers in some East Asian militaries. The ranks are used in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan, and both North and South Korea. Chinese variant People's Liberation A ...

in 1986, and was the commanding officer of the

ROKS Wang Geon (DDH-978) ROKS ''Wang Geon'' (DDH-978) is a in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after Wang Geon. Design The KDX-II is part of a much larger build up program aimed at turning the ROKN into a blue-water navy. It is said to be the first stealthy ma ...

in December 2009 to June 2010, where he was promoted to

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

and served as the Commander of the

Cheonghae Unit The Republic of Korea Navy Somali Sea Escort Task Group (Korean: 대한민국 해군 소말리아 해역 호송전대), also known as "Cheonghae" Unit (Korean: 청해부대, Hanja: 淸海部隊) was established by the Republic of Korea Navy to prot ...

from June 2010 to January 2011, during which he took part in its rescue mission of

MV Samho Jewelry MV ''Samho Jewelry'' (Hangul: 삼호 주얼리) is a Norwegian-owned and South Korean-operated chemical tanker. She was hijacked by Somali pirates on January 15, 2011 and rescued six days later by South Korean Navy commandos. Description Built ...

hijacked by

Somali pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somal ...

. He served as the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Fleet in January 2012 to January 2013, and served as the Commander at the 21st Destroyer Task Group from January 2013 to December 2013. He also served as the Commander of the Jeju Naval Base Construction Project Group from December 2013 to November 2015, and also served at the Naval Headquarters at

Gyeryong Gyeryong (, ko, 계룡시) is a city in southeastern South Chungcheong province, South Korea. The current mayor is Choi Hong-Mook. The city was created in 2003, by a split from Nonsan city, following prolonged local agitation. Located on the out ...

, where he served at the Office of DCNO for both Intelligence & Operations(N2 / N3). He served as the Commander of the 2nd Fleet from May 2016 to January 2018. He served as the superintendent of his alma mater,

from January 2018 to November 2018, and was appointed as the Chief Director of the Joint Staff Military Support Center from November 2018 to April 2020, before being named as the

in April 2020.

Effective dates of promotion

Awards

Order of National Security Merit The Order of National Security Merit (Hangul: 보국훈장) is one of South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land b ...

by the government of South Korea (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boo, Suk-jong Living people Chiefs of Naval Operations (South Korea) People from Jeju Province 1964 births Korea Naval Academy alumni Kyungnam University alumni