South Korean Defence Minister resigns protesting imposition of martial law

SEOUL: South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun has resigned. Reports said he resigned after President Yoon Suk-Yeol imposed martial law and later withdrew it. The president has accepted Kim Yong-hyun's resignation. The president's office later announced that Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Choi Byung-hyuk had been nominated as the new ministerial candidate.

Yoon shocked everyone by announcing martial law on national television on Tuesday night. With this, the military banned all political activities. However, as pressure mounted, Yoon withdrew the law within six hours. Yoon had imposed martial law on the grounds that opposition parties were sympathetic to North Korea and trying to weaken the regime.

A strong protest broke out in the country. Students and others took to the streets to demand Yoon's resignation. Police and protesters clashed. Within two hours, opposition MPs passed a resolution in parliament to block the law. The speaker declared the law invalid. Yoon's announcement without informing them also caused great anger in the ruling party. Yoon was forced to repeal the law and also withdrew the army that had surrounded the parliament. It was the first time martial law had been declared in South Korea since 1980.