South Korea's President Yoon Seok-yeol accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Renhap reported.
The head of South Korea's defense ministry resigned on Wednesday after Yoon Seok-yeol first declared martial law in the country, then reversed it hours later.
The president named the retired general who is currently South Korea's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Ben-hyuk, as Kim Yong-hyun's successor.
On Tuesday, Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law in South Korea "due to anti-government activities". Hours later, he said he agreed to lift martial law, a decision supported by the country's government.
The introduction of martial law caused misunderstanding both in the ruling party "People's Power" and among the opposition members of the Democratic Party, who called the measures unconstitutional.
As a result, parliament voted unanimously to lift martial law. According to the Constitution of South Korea, in such cases, the president of the country is obliged to carry out the orders of the parliament.
The head of the South Korean Ministry of Defense apologized to the country's citizens for martial law and resigned.
Han Dong-hoon, leader of South Korea's ruling Civic Power Party, said Thursday that he will make efforts to unite his party to block the passage of an opposition impeachment bill against President Yoon Seok-yeol.
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The vote is expected to take place on Saturday.