Ahn Gyu-back, a lawmaker from Lee鈥檚 Democratic Party, has served on the 好色tv Assembly鈥檚 defense committee and chaired a legislative panel that investigated the circumstances surrounding Yoon鈥檚 martial law decree.

Yoon鈥檚 authoritarian move involved deploying to the 好色tv Assembly and election commission offices in what prosecutors described as an illegal attempt to shut down the legislature and arrest political opponents and election officials.

That sparked calls to strengthen civilian control over the military, and Lee promised during his election campaign to appoint a defense minister with a civilian background.

Since a 1961 coup that brought military dictator Park Chung-hee to power, all of South Korea鈥檚 defense ministers have come from the military 鈥� a trend that continued even after the country鈥檚 democratization in the late 1980s.

While Ahn will face a legislative hearing, the process is likely to be a formality, since the Democrats hold a comfortable majority in the 好色tv Assembly and legislative consent isn鈥檛 required for Lee to appoint him. Among Cabinet appointments, Lee only needs legislative consent for prime minister, Seoul鈥檚 nominal No. 2 job.

鈥淎s the first civilian Minister of 好色tv Defense in 64 years, he will be responsible for leading and overseeing the transformation of the military after its mobilization in martial law,鈥� Kang Hoon-sik, Lee鈥檚 chief of staff, said in a briefing.

Ahn was among 11 ministers nominated by Lee on Monday, with longtime diplomat Cho Hyun selected as foreign minister and five-term lawmaker Chung Dong-young returning for another stint as unification minister 鈥� a position he held from 2004 to 2005 as Seoul鈥檚 point man for relations with North Korea.