[Impeachment Q&A] Who Holds the Military Command Authority if Impeachment Passes?

Acting Authority Transferred to Prime Minister Han Deok-su
Defense Minister Vacancy Expected to Continue for a While

If the second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol is passed in the National Assembly on the 14th, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will assume the role of acting president according to the Constitution. The president's authority as commander-in-chief of the armed forces will also be transferred to Prime Minister Han.

Yonhap News

However, the vacancy in the Ministry of National Defense is expected to last for some time. Choi Byung-hyuk, currently serving as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, was nominated as the candidate for Minister of National Defense to succeed former Minister Kim Yong-hyun, but it is reported that Choi recently declined the nomination. Choi is a retired four-star general who graduated from the Korea Military Academy. During the 2022 presidential election, he worked with former Minister Kim in Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign and was involved in formulating defense pledges.

Until the next candidate for Minister of National Defense is nominated, Deputy Minister Kim Sun-ho will take charge of the military. It is expected to be the first time since the founding of the armed forces that a deputy minister will continue in an acting minister capacity. Traditionally, when a successor minister is nominated, the incumbent minister performs duties until the confirmation hearing and official appointment. Especially since the Ministry of National Defense is directly linked to national security, this tradition has been maintained.

Whether Prime Minister Han, who has assumed the commander-in-chief authority, will proceed with appointing the Minister of National Defense or subsequent general officer personnel changes remains to be seen. So far, 17 stars have been suspended from duty in relation to martial law. These are commanders who play key roles in the readiness posture against North Korea.

Lieutenant General Yeo In-hyung, Commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command; Lieutenant General Lee Jin-woo, Commander of the Capital Defense Command; and Lieutenant General Kwak Jong-geun, Commander of the Special Warfare Command, have all been suspended. Brigadier General Jeong Seong-woo (expected promotion to major general), Chief of the 1st Counterintelligence Division; Brigadier General Kim Dae-woo, Head of the Counterintelligence Investigation Unit; and Major General Moon Sang-ho, Commander of the Intelligence Command, have also been successively suspended. Additionally, Brigadier Generals Lee Sang-hyun, Commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade; Kim Jeong-geun, Commander of the 3rd Airborne Brigade; Ahn Moo-sung, Commander of the 9th Airborne Brigade?who have been confirmed to have deployed troops?along with Colonel Kim Chang-hak, Commander of the Military Police Unit under the Capital Defense Command; Colonel Kim Se-woon, Commander of the Special Operations Aviation Group; and Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, Commander of the 707 Special Mission Unit, have been subject to travel bans, making it difficult to consider them in normal duty status.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.