President Yoon Suk Yeol has accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is believed to have advised him to declare martial law on Tuesday night.

Presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-seok said in a press briefing Thursday that Yoon accepted and approved Kim’s resignation and nominated Choi Byung-hyuk, the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, as his next defense minister.

The announcement came a day after Kim apologized for causing public concern in relation to Yoon’s martial law declaration and offered to resign. 

The presidential chief of staff said Choi is an operations expert with extensive field experience and broad insight into security issues.

Chung added that Choi is the right person to faithfully carry out the military’s fundamental duty of maintaining a solid defense posture based on a strong South Korea-U.S. alliance.