Retired Army general-turned-ambassador named new defense minister
President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, poses with Choi Byung-hyuk, new ambassador to Saudi Arabia after presenting him with credentials for the head of the Korean mission to the Middle Eastern nation during a ceremony at the presidential office in Seoul, Dec. 28, 2023. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
Choi Byung-hyuk, the nominee to lead the defense ministry, is a retired four-star Army general currently serving as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Choi, a graduate of the Korea Military Academy, served as the commander of a security brigade and the director of operations at the Capital Defense Command from 2008 and 2009.
In 2014, he served as the commander of the 22nd Division of the Army and later took on the positions as the director of the Army's inspection office, the commander of the 5th Army Corps, and the Army's vice chief of staff.
Choi was promoted to a four-star general in April 2019 and served as the deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command until September 2020.
In the run-up to the 2022 presidential election, he helped shape President Yoon Suk Yeol's campaign pledges for the defense sector, along with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
In December 2023, Choi was appointed by Yoon as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Choi's nomination came as Yoon accepted Kim's resignation offer amid controversy surrounding his role in Yoon's aborted martial law declaration. (Yonhap)