BREAKINGBREAKING,
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun has resigned following short-lived declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk-yeol.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol has accepted the resignation of the country’s Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and nominated the country’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Byung-hyuk, as new defence minister, according to the country’s Yonhap news agency.
The president’s office confirmed the nomination of Choi, a former army general, as the new defence minister on Thursday.
According to the Reuters news agency, Kim had reportedly advised President Yoon to declare martial law on Tuesday night, a move that was quickly cut short after South Korea’s parliament voted for Yoon to reverse his decision.
Yoon’s nomination of a new defence minister is his first official act since revoking the declaration of martial law in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Amid public outrage at the attempt to impose martial law and condemnation of Yoon by opposition parties, South Korea’s parliament introduced a motion early on Thursday to impeach the president.
The main opposition Democratic Party has called Yoon’s martial law attempt a treasonous act, and its lawmakers could lead a vote for impeachment as early as Friday.
Yoon’s own party, however, has promised to oppose efforts to remove the president, throwing the process into doubt.
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