South Koreaʼs president has appointed a new defense minister after lifting martial law

South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun and appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Choi Byung Hak to this post.

Reuters writes about it.

South Korean media wrote that it was the previous Minister of Defense Kim Yong Hyun, who suggested to the president to introduce martial law in the country. He has already apologized for this to the citizens.

The new minister Choi Byung Hak is described as a principled person who faithfully fulfills his duties and follows the rules. The appointment is the first official move by the president since he lifted martial law amid protests and widespread public discontent.

In April 2019, Choi was promoted to the rank of general and until September 2020 served as the deputy commander of the South Korean-US Joint Command. In December 2023, President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Choi as ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

What preceded

Yoon Seok Yeol declared martial law in the country on the night of December 3-4 to "protect the constitutional order" — the first time since the 1980s. The reason was that the opposition Democratic Party of South Korea, which has a majority in parliament, rejected the governmentʼs budget proposal and decided to impeach the state auditor and the chief prosecutor.

An hour later, South Koreaʼs parliament passed a resolution calling for martial law to be lifted. 190 MPs out of 190 who took part in the vote spoke in favour of the decision. In total, South Korea has 300 MPs, but only 190 of them were able to get into the parliament building, despite being surrounded by soldiers storming the National Assembly building.

After that, the South Korean government supported the "plan to lift martial law" demanded by the parliament. The office of the countryʼs prime minister reported that the proposal was approved at 04:30 local time. Martial law lasted for about six hours.

When the parliamentarians adopted the resolution, people sang the national anthem and applauded in the streets. According to preliminary estimates, four thousand citizens gathered near the parliament building. Korean trade union flags could be seen in the crowd. The head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Yang Kyung Soo took to the podium and announced an indefinite general strike until President Yoon Seok Yeol resigns.

The leader of the opposition Democratic Party Park Chan Dae said that the president of South Korea will not be able to avoid accusations of treason and should "immediately resign".

President Yoon Seok Yeol has low approval ratings in the country, particularly due to rising food and housing prices, labour conflicts and a sharp drop in the birth rate. The presidentʼs reputation was also under fire over a hidden camera video of First Lady Kim Keon Hee allegedly accepting a $2,200 Dior bag as a gift.

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