Chief of Naval Operations (South Korea)

The chief of naval operations of the Republic of Korea Navy (Korean: 대한민국 해군참모총장; Hanja: 大韓民國海軍參謀總長) is the head of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN). The post was established following the induction of Joseon Coastal Guards (조선해안경비대) into the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the subsequent renaming of the organization as the Republic of Korea Navy in 1948. Originally held by a vice admiral,^[1] the post of CNO has been held by an admiral since 1968.^[2]

Chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Korea Navy
대한민국 해군참모총장
Flag of the chief of naval operations
Incumbent Admiral Yang Yong-mo since 7 November 2023
Ministry of National Defense
Abbreviation	CNO
Member of	Joint Chiefs of Staff
Reports to	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Appointer	The president
Formation	5 September 1948; 76 years ago (5 September 1948)
First holder	Vice Admiral Sohn Won-yil

The appointment of the CNO, along with the chiefs of staff of the Army, 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.^[3]

List of the chiefs of naval operations

No.	Portrait	Chief of Naval Operations	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Vice Admiral Sohn Won-yil (1909–1980)	5 September 1948	30 June 1953	4 years, 298 days
2		Vice Admiral Park Ok-kyu[1] (1901–1971)	30 June 1953	1 November 1954	1 year, 124 days
3		Vice Admiral Chong Kung-mo[1] (1914–1980)	1 November 1954	23 February 1959	4 years, 114 days
4		Vice Admiral Lee Yong-woon (1915–1987)	23 February 1959	28 September 1960	1 year, 218 days
5		Vice Admiral Lee Sung-ho (1926–2019)	28 September 1960	28 September 1962	2 years, 0 days
6		Vice Admiral Lee Maeng-kee[4] (1925–2004)	28 September 1962	10 September 1964	1 year, 348 days
7		Vice Admiral Hahm Myong-soo (1928–2016)	10 September 1964	1 September 1966	1 year, 356 days
8		Admiral Kim Yong-kwan[1] (1925–2021)	1 September 1966	1 April 1969	2 years, 212 days
9		Admiral Chang Chi-su[1] (1928–2008)	1 April 1969	1 April 1972	3 years, 0 days
10		Admiral Kim Kyu-sop[1] (1929–2018)	1 April 1972	28 February 1974	1 year, 333 days
11		Admiral Hwang Chong-yon[1] (1928–2012)	28 February 1974	17 April 1979	5 years, 48 days
12		Admiral Kim Chong-kon (1930–2022)	17 April 1979	14 May 1981	2 years, 27 days
13		Admiral Lee Un-su[1] (born 1930)	14 May 1981	28 December 1982	1 year, 228 days
14		Admiral Oh Kyung-hwan (1931–2021)	28 December 1982	4 September 1984	1 year, 251 days
15		Admiral Choe Sang-hwa[1] (born 1931)	4 September 1984	4 September 1987	3 years, 0 days
16		Admiral Kim Chong-ho[1] (1933–2014)	4 September 1987	4 September 1989	2 years, 0 days
17		Admiral Kim Chong-ho[1] (born 1936)	4 September 1989	4 September 1991	2 years, 0 days
18		Admiral Kim Chul-woo[5]: p202  (1936–2019)	4 September 1991	26 May 1993	1 year, 264 days
19		Admiral Kim Hong-yeol[5]: p219  (born 1939)	26 May 1993	1 April 1995	1 year, 310 days
20		Admiral An Pyong-tae[5]: p412  (born 1939)	1 April 1995	1 April 1997	2 years, 0 days
21		Admiral Yu Sam-nam[5]: p457  (born 1941)	1 April 1997	1 April 1999	2 years, 0 days
22		Admiral Lee Soo-yong[5]: p550  (born 1942)	1 April 1999	31 March 2001	1 year, 364 days
23		Admiral Chang Jeong-kil[5] (born 1944)	1 April 2001	31 March 2003	1 year, 364 days
24		Admiral Moon Jeong-il (born 1944)	1 April 2003	29 March 2005	1 year, 362 days
25		Admiral Nam Hae-il (born 1947)	29 March 2005	17 November 2006	1 year, 233 days
26		Admiral Song Young-moo (born 1949)	17 November 2006	20 March 2008	1 year, 124 days
27		Admiral Jung Ok-keun (born 1952)	20 March 2008	19 March 2010	1 year, 364 days
28		Admiral Kim Sung-chan (born 1954)	19 March 2010	17 October 2011	1 year, 212 days
29		Admiral Choi Yoon-hee (born 1953)	17 October 2011	28 September 2013	1 year, 346 days
30		Admiral Hwang Ki-chul (born 1956)	28 September 2013	27 February 2015	1 year, 152 days
31		Admiral Jung Ho-sub (born 1958)	27 February 2015	22 September 2016	1 year, 208 days
32		Admiral Um Hyun-seong (born 1958)	22 September 2016	19 July 2018	1 year, 300 days
33		Admiral Sim Seung-seob (born 1963)	19 July 2018	10 April 2020	1 year, 266 days
34		Admiral Boo Suk-jong (born 1964)	10 April 2020	16 December 2021	1 year, 250 days
35		Admiral Kim Jung-soo (born 1965)	16 December 2021	27 May 2022	162 days
36		Admiral Lee Jong-ho (born 1965)	27 May 2022	31 October 2023	1 year, 157 days
37		Admiral Yang Yong-mo (born 1967)	7 November 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 280 days