Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun resigned from his post on Thursday amid controversy over martial law in South Korea. According to the Korean news agency Yonhap, Kim Yong said that he is taking responsibility for the great upheaval in the country. President Yoon Suk Yeol has accepted the resignation of the defense minister, the presidential office said.
The President announced martial law only on the advice of Defense Minister Kim. The Deputy Defense Minister confirmed this at a media briefing on Thursday. He said that the army entered the parliament only on the orders of Kim Yong.
The Deputy Defense Minister also said that he knew nothing about martial law. He got this information on TV. They are sad that they did not know anything and therefore could not stop the incident at the right time.
Choi Byung-hyuk has now been made South Korea's new defense minister, replacing Kim Yong. He has been a four-star general in the army and currently serves as South Korea's ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
New Defense Minister Choi Byung-hyuk with President Eun Suk Yeol in South Korea.
Opposition MP Kim Min Seok has alleged that the 'Chungam group' is behind the imposition of martial law in the country. Chungnam is a high school in the capital Seoul where the president and his friends studied.
After becoming president, Yoon appointed his friends to important positions. All of them had many powers to enforce martial law and had been preparing for it for months. Defense Minister Kim also studied at Chungam and is an old friend of the President.
According to the report, the President convened a cabinet meeting 3 hours before martial law was imposed, in which 4 people besides him were present. Apart from the Prime Minister, the Finance and External Affairs Ministers opposed the imposition of martial law. However, the President ignored their advice.
South Korean President Eun Suk Yeol (left) and former Defense Minister Kim Yong.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
