South Korea's Yoon picks new Defence Minster after Kim Yong-Hyun resigns amid blame-game over martial law saga

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated Choi Byung-hyuk as the country’s new Defence Minister after he accepted the resignation of the current Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. According to the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, Kim’s resignation came amid growing controversy surrounding his role in Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law.

The opposition lawmakers have already moved to impeach both Yoon and Kim over the stunning yet short-lived imposition of martial law that brought armed troops into Seoul streets. Reports soon started to float that it was Kim, who proposed the martial law declaration to Yoon and ordered the deployment of troops to the parliament, leading to clashes between the army and lawmakers.

The martial law was lifted the same day it was proposed following the National Assembly’s passage of a resolution to overturn it. According to Yonhap, Yoon’s new pick Choi is a retired four-star Army general currently serving as South Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

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Yoon picks a seasoned military professional

Choi served as deputy commander of the South Korea-US combined command from 2019 to 2020 and is touted as a seasoned military professional with a broad understanding of national security and extensive field experience, Yonhap reported

“The nominee is considered to be a suitable candidate to fulfil the military’s core responsibilities, including maintaining a firm readiness posture based on the robust South Korea-U.S. alliance,” Chung Jin-suk, Yoon’s chief of staff, said in a press briefing.

It is pertinent to note that in South Korea, all ministers in the president’s cabinet are subject to a parliamentary confirmation process, but only the prime minister’s appointment requires parliamentary approval. However, the parliament currently seems like swinging the other way.

South Korea’s ruling party leader asks Yoon to resign from party

Amid the chaos, the leader of South Korea’s ruling party said that he has asked President Yoon Suk Yeol to leave the party, even after he vowed to block an opposition-led impeachment motion. While speaking to the reporters, Han Dong-hoon said that he had “demanded the president’s resignation from the party”. He added that his party was “not trying to defend the president’s unconstitutional martial law”.

The floor leader maintained that the party’s lawmakers would “unite” to defeat an opposition-led motion to impeach Yoon over his brief declaration of martial law. “All 108 lawmakers of the People Power Party will stay united to reject the president’s impeachment,” the ruling party’s floor leader, Choo Kyung-ho said during a party meeting.

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It is pertinent to note that the opposition currently needs just eight ruling party lawmakers to pass the impeachment bill. South Korea’s main opposition, The Democratic Party, has already made it clear that they will be voting to impeach Yoon at 7 pm (local time). If the motion passes, Yoon will be suspended and his case will go to the country’s Constitutional Court.

If judges give a nod, then Yoon will be impeached and the country will undergo an election within 60 days. Yoon, who has been marred with one scandal after another since taking office in 2022, has not been seen in public ever since he lifted the martial law.

With inputs from agencies.