Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has named five-term lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back as Defence Minister, the first time in 64 years that a civilian has been nominated for the post, the presidential office said, reported IANS.
Lee’s pick of Ahn is seen as carrying out his election pledge to reform the military, a key promise from his presidential campaign to rebuild a nation fractured by the brief imposition of martial law in December last year under his predecessor, the ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The military has come under scrutiny since Yoon deployed troops to the National Assembly when he declared martial law on December 3, allegedly to block lawmakers attempting to stop his brief imposition of martial law decree. Yoon was removed from office in April over the martial law debacle.
Ahn is a veteran politician with the Democratic Party who has mostly served on the defence subcommittee of the National Assembly. If confirmed, he will be the first civilian Defence Minister since 1961, when former President Park Chung-hee seized power through a military coup.
“As the first civilian Defence Minister in 64 years, Ahn is expected to lead and oversee the transformation of the military that was mobilised during the martial law period,” presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said in a press briefing. Lee also tapped former Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun as South Korea’s top diplomat, as he announced his picks for 11 Cabinet positions, including ministers for the environment, science and labour, in the latest nominations since he assumed office June 4.
Lee chose Cho for his first Foreign Minister as he is considered the right candidate to deal with key pending diplomatic issues, including tariff negotiations with the United States and Middle East affairs, Kang said.
Cho, a retired veteran diplomat, served as both the first and second vice ministers under the Moon Jae-in government before serving as the South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations from 2019-22. He is known for his extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy and trade issues. Lee also nominated Chung Dong-young, a journalist-turned-veteran DP lawmaker, for Unification Minister, responsible for inter-Korean affairs. Chung previously served as the Unification Minister under the Roh Moo-hyun government from 2004-05.