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South Korean President Yong Suk-yeol has accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and nominated Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Choi Byung-hyuk as the new defense minister, the presidential office announced Thursday.
Kim, who offered to resign on Wednesday, was seen as a key figure in the martial law declared by Yunus on Tuesday. A senior military official and impeachment filings by opposition members said Kim made the recommendation to Jon.
Chung Jin-suk, Jun’s chief of staff, called Choi “a principled person who carries out his duties with dedication and follows the rules.”
The nomination is Yoon’s first official step after his announcement the withdrawal of the declaration of martial law in the early hours of Wednesday amid a storm of political turmoil and diplomatic fallout.
Parliament submitted a proposal early Thursday to impeach Yoon over the failed attempt to impose martial law, but his party vowed to oppose the move, casting doubt on the process.
WATCH | Yoon faces impeachment:
Thousands of people marched in Seoul on Wednesday to demand that President Yoon Suk-yeol step down from his temporary declaration of martial law in South Korea. Lawmakers are expected to vote on Friday or Saturday to impeach June.
The main opposition Democratic Party has called Jonah’s martial law attempt a treasonous act, and its lawmakers could lead a vote on the bill as early as Friday.
U.S. officials said they were caught off guard by Yohan’s martial law declaration, which U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said was “grossly misjudged.”
Yoon’s declaration of martial law, the first of its kind in decades, comes during South Korea’s past military-backed governments, when authorities occasionally declared martial law and other decrees that allowed soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles to be deployed on streets or in public spaces. as schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.
By Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, such scenes of military intervention had not been seen since South Korea achieved democracy in the late 1980s.
