President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday named Choi Byung-hyuk, who has been serving as ambassador to Saudi Arabia since January and is a retired four-star Army general, as South Korea's new defense minister.

Choi served as deputy commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command from 2019 to 2020. Prior to that, he held key posts, including commander of the 5th Corps and deputy chief of staff of the Army.

Choi also held the position of president of the Korea Defense Veterans Association’s Korea Chapter, a prominent organization advocating for the Korea-US alliance.

A graduate of the Korea Military Academy’s 41st class, Choi is three classes junior to his predecessor, Kim Yong-hyun, who tendered his resignation as defense minister on Wednesday, accepting responsibility for his role in this week's turmoil. He had allegedly suggested to President Yoon to declare martial law and ordered military troops to the National Assembly.

Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk said Choi is the "right person to reliably carry out the military's fundamental duties, such as maintaining a solid state of readiness based on a steadfast Korea-US alliance, leveraging extensive experience and profound insight in the field of defense."