The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol's nomination of the presidential security chief as the new defense minister.

At a press conference on Monday, DP chief spokesperson Lee Hae-sik said Presidential Security Service(PSS) Chief Kim Yong-hyun had been focused on looking after the president's feelings, referring to the PSS' forceful hauling of a student during Yoon's speech at KAIST earlier this year.

The spokesperson added that Kim had been identified as pulling strings in the administration's alleged defense of Marine Corps division chief Lim Seong-geun from indictment in the death of a Marine during last year's rain search and rescue.

Announcing its opposition to Kim's nomination, the DP pledged to reveal that the nominee is at the center of the administration's alleged influence-peddling and is unqualified for the job.