South Korean President Lee Jae-myung nominated 10 cabinet-level officials on the 23rd, including popular candidate Ahn Gyu-beom from the Democratic Party for the position of Minister of National Defense, marking the first civilian defense minister in South Korea in 64 years. According to the Korean Central News Agency, the nominees also include former deputy foreign minister Cho Hyun for the new foreign minister role, and Democratic Party member Jeong Dong-yong for Minister of Unification.

Ahn Gyu-beom, aged 64, is set to become the first civilian defense minister since the military coup in 1961. He has nearly 40 years of political experience, having become a National Assembly member in 2008 and serving on the National Defense Committee for 14 years. As such, he is considered one of the few political figures with a strong background in defense affairs. The last civilian defense minister was Hyeon Seok-hoo in 1961, who served for less than six months before resigning due to a coup led by former President Park Chung-hee. Since then, the position has largely been held by retired generals and lieutenant generals.