South Korean President Li J Muung has nominated five-time MP Ah Gue-Back for the post of Defense Minister on Monday, breaking the tradition of appointing retired military generals as Defense Minister.
The announcement has been made at a time when several prominent former defense officers, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, are facing criminal cases for their role in implementing martial law during the tenure of the then President Union Suk Yol last year.
Impeachment action was taken against Yeow and he was removed from the post.
Lee’s Democratic Party MP Ah Gue-Back has worked in the Defense Committee of ‘National Assembly’ and presided over the legislative panel that investigated the circumstances related to the order of Marshal Law of Yu.
Since the military dictator Park Chung-He came to power in 1961, all the Defense Ministers of South Korea have been appointed from military forces. This trend continued even after the democratization of the country in the late 1980s.
Although the name of the back is yet to be heard for confirmation, it is likely to be formalized, as Democrats have a majority in the National Assembly and Lee does not require legislative consensus to appoint him.
