President Lee Jae-myung on the 23rd nominated 5-term veteran Ahn Gyu-baek (photo) as the Minister of National Defense.
Ahn, who was born in 1961 in Gochang, North Jeolla Province, graduated from Sungkyunkwan University with a degree in philosophy and entered the 18th National Assembly as a proportional representative, continuously winning elections in the Dongdaemun-gu Gap district.
Ahn has focused on legislative activities related to military reforms, including the human rights of military personnel, improving military culture, and eradicating defense corruption while serving as the secretary and chairperson of the National Defense Committee.
If appointed, Ahn will become the first civilian Minister of National Defense in 64 years. Since the establishment of the government in 1948, civilians such as Lee Gi-bung and Kim Yong-woo from the First Republic and Hyeon Seok-ho and Kwon Jung-don from the Second Republic held the position of Minister of National Defense, but since the May 16 coup in 1961, military generals have continuously served as Ministers of National Defense.
Kang Hoon, the President's Chief of Staff, noted, "Ahn has a rich understanding of the military, having most of his five-term National Assembly experience working on the National Defense Committee as its secretary and chairperson. He will be responsible for leading the changes in the military mobilized during the martial law for the first time in 64 years as a civilian Minister of National Defense."