South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has accepted Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun's resignation and appointed his ambassador to Saudi Arabia Choi Byung-hyuk as the brand new defense minister, Yonhap News reported on Thursday.
Yoon's office confirmed the nomination of Choi, a former army general, for the post.
Yoon's chief of staff Chung Jin-suk described Choi as “a principled person who carries out his duties with dedication and follows regulations,” Yonhap reported.
Kim is claimed to have advised Yoon on Tuesday to declare martial law, which was lifted after a parliamentary vote through which Yoon called for it to be lifted.
The nomination is Yoon's first official move after he announced the withdrawal of the martial law declaration within the early hours of Wednesday amid a storm of political unrest and diplomatic spats.
Parliament moved a motion early Thursday to question him over the failed try to impose martial law, but his party vowed to oppose the move, throwing the proceedings into query.
The most important opposition Democratic Party called Yoon's try to declare martial law a treasonous act and its lawmakers could launch a vote on the bill as early as Friday.
U.S. officials said they were caught off guard by Yoon's declaration of martial law, which Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said was “severely misjudged.”
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