Kim Yong-hyun (; born 25 June 1959) is a South Korean former three-star army lieutenant general and politician who served as the minister of national defense from 6 September 2024 until his resignation on 5 December 2024. Kim previously served in the Republic of Korea Army from 1982 until he was discharged in 2017. Kim later served as the Chief of the Presidential Security Service from 11 May 2022 until his Minister of National Defense confirmation on 6 September 2024.
During his political career, Kim was widely known for his close personal ties with President Yoon Suk Yeol, as the two have known each other since high school. Kim graduated one year ahead of Yoon shortly before entering the military. The two became close friends in 2020, following Yoon's suspension as prosecutor general. After Yoon was elected as president in 2022, Yoon appointed Kim as Presidential Security Service Chief. The two later formed a faction within the military and government consisting of their fellow high school alumni, known as the Chungam Faction.
On 3 December 2024, Kim advised President Yoon to impose martial law during a last-minute cabinet meeting. Shortly after, Yoon ultimately declared emergency martial law across the nation. Through the martial law order, Kim ordered military personnel to enter the National Assembly and prevent lawmakers from gathering to vote down the declaration. However the attempt to do so failed as 190 lawmakers made it into the parliament and unanimously voted to lift the martial law only a few hours later on 4 December. After the National Assembly filed an impeachment motion against him, Kim resigned the following day. He attempted to flee the country to avoid prosecution, but was travel barred by the Ministry of Justice.
It was soon revealed that Kim had been planning martial law alongside Yoon for several months. He was appointed Defense Minister as part of a martial law strategy to prevent First Lady Kim Keon Hee from going to prison, as she was subject to several allegations of misconduct including the falsification of academic and financial reports. On 8 December, Kim was arrested for his role in the declaration. Kim would later attempt suicide inside the bathroom of the detention facility he was being held in, shortly before a warrant could be filed against him. On 19 February 2026, Kim was sentenced to 30 years in prison for planning and participating in an insurrection.
Life and education Kim was born in Masan, South Korea on 25 June 1959. He attended , and graduated from Chungam High School in 1978. He later joined the Korea Military Academy and graduated from the academy's 38th class on 28 March 1982, where he began to serve in the Republic of Korea Army until he was discharged in 2017.
Sometime during his life, Kim became a Catholic, and got married and had two children. He has no political party preference, as he claims "there should be no opposition or division in security."
Throughout his political career, several of Kim's former high school alumni claimed that his favorite book to read was Adolf Hitler's autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf. DPK Rep. Choo Mi-ae would ultimately confirm this to be true during a televised interview, which added to many people's suspicion that Kim, having risen to such a powerful position within both the military and the government, may have been driven by darker instincts rather than a sense of duty to national security. An anonymous alumnus of the Korea Military Academy's 38th class claimed that Kim "had a genuine interest in how political power can be manipulated."
History with Yoon Suk Yeol
In 1977, Kim met future-president Yoon Suk Yeol while they were both students at Chungam High School. Yoon was one year Kim's junior. At the time, Kim was the head of the school's Student Defense Corps, which was an organization created by the South Korean government in 1975 to replace the student council, to "establish an all-out security system for the school system." Kim explained his relationship with Yoon in an interview, saying; "I heard there was a junior who was good at studying and had a sense of duty, so I called him out of curiosity and asked to meet him." Kim graduated high school in 1978, one year ahead of Yoon. After Kim entered the Korea Military Academy, he lost contact with Yoon. Years later, through an alumni association, they found each other again and stayed in contact. Kim also allegedly knew future-Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung subsequent to his graduation.
However, the two didn't become close friends until 2020, after Yoon was suspended from his prosecutor general duties by then-Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae. Living a life of exile due to the suspension, Yoon called Kim over to have a drink. Here, Kim and Yoon had a conversation about prominent political South Korean figures, which reportedly got Yoon interested in running for president. After Yoon announced his campaign, Kim told him; "If you want to win the election, you need to build a campaign centered around Chungam High School alumni and Seoul National University alumni, people who aren't from the prosecution." This allegedly led to the two forming the Chungam Faction after Yoon became president. The faction has been compared to the Hanahoe faction of former dictator Chun Doo-hwan and his successor Roh Tae-woo, due to it having a role in the 2024 martial law declaration.
Career
Kim entered the Korea Military Academy shortly after graduating high school. He graduated from the academy's 38th class on 28 March 1982, where he began serving in the Republic of Korea Army. Kim was later promoted to major in 1989, to colonel general in 2003, to brigadier general in 2007, to major general in 2010, and to lieutenant general in 2013.
In 1989, Kim was assigned to the 55th Security Brigade of the Capital Defense Command. In 2003, he served as the Army Headquarters National Assembly Liaison Officer. Kim also led the 17th Infantry Division of the Army from 2010 to 2012. In 2015, President Park Geun-hye nominated Kim as the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Chief Directorate of Operations, where he served until he was discharged from the military on 26 September 2017. Kim retired two months later, but stepped out of retirement after he was elected as the Senior Vice Chairman of the Future Practical Security Forum in April 2018, which he served until Yoon Suk Yeol announced his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election on 29 June 2021.
In September 2016, Minister of National Defense Han Min-goo selected Lim Yo-young to become the four-star army full general of the 38th class, rather than Kim. Kim was discharged from the military on 26 September 2017, and retired two months later on 30 November. Political commentator Chae Jin-won stated in an interview that Kim began to show signs of strange behavior after he was discharged, claiming that he "began to show a lack of philosophy and military spirit." Kim also reportedly felt hatred against Defense Minister Han for not selecting him.
After Yoon was elected president, Kim served as the Chief of the Presidential Security Service from 11 May 2022 until his Minister of National Defense confirmation on 6 September 2024. During his tenure, Kim was involved in the presidential office’s relocation from the Blue House to the Yongsan District. The relocation led to Yoon living alongside other military generals.
Alleged assault on Kang Sung-hee On 18 January 2024, Kang Sung-hee. the floor leader of the Progressive Party, was forcefully carried out and removed by presidential security agents at a ceremony launching North Jeolla Province as a special self-governing province after verbally urging President Yoon to "change [his] approach to governance." Footage of the incident shows Kim Yong-hyun, who was still the Chief of the Presidential Security Service at the time, raising his hand and making a gesture as if he was physically striking Kang. Whether or not Kim actually assaulted Kang is unknown. Kang later attempted to re-enter but was again stopped by security guards. Footage of the gesture went viral and sparked mass controversy. The Progressive Party announced they would "hold Yoon's administration accountable" for the incident. Rep. Jeong Seong-ho would call the incident "inappropriate" and would claim Yoon's administration is "worst than Park Geun-hye's administration," in reference to President Park Geun-hye and scandals involving her administration. Democratic Party leader Lee Jae Myung would call Yoon's administration a "monarchy" in response to the incident.
Attempts to provoke North Korea crisis
In May 2024, North Korea began sending balloons loaded with trash into South Korea. In October, North Korea accused the South Korean military of flying propaganda leaflet-scattering drones over Pyongyang, which the South Korean military said they were unable to confirm. Sometime in early December, Park Beom-kye, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, claimed Kim orchestrated the drone incident to stoke tension with North Korea, and that the DCC took a hands-on role in the incident. Lee Ki-heon of the Intelligence Committee said he had confirmed a report that Kim instructed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Kim Myung-soo to "fire warning shots and then strike the origin of sewage balloons flying from the North", though a spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff denied this. Lee speculated that Yoon and Defense Minister Kim were trying to provoke a "local war" in order to justify martial law. Admiral Kim refused the order and was verbally abused by Defense Minister Kim. Lee suspected this led Defense Minister Kim to select Army Chief of Staff Park An-su for martial law commander instead, as Admiral Kim would have been the default choice. In October 2024, Defense Minister Kim offered 3 million won in encouragement money to the military psychological warfare unit under the name of "contribution to military readiness." On 1 December, two days before martial law was declared, colonel-level commanders were called to be on guard for an imminent provocation by North Korea, with DCC Commander Yeo In-hyung giving orders to prepare for a "serious North Korean filth balloon situation".
Minister of National Defense Confirmation and tenure
Yoon appointed Kim to be Minister of National Defense on August 12, 2024. Kim's appointment was met with much controversy, as he was appointed without any opposition’s approval. In September 2024, Party leader Lee Jae Myung speculated that Kim's appointment was a part of an upcoming martial law strategy to prevent First Lady Kim Keon Hee from going to prison. Some other DPK lawmakers expressed concerns about the timing of Kim's appointment, which came only one month ahead of a reshuffle of the nation's military leadership scheduled for October. During his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly on 2 September 2024, opposition lawmakers focused on his involvement in the presidential office’s relocation, and his close personal ties with Yoon. Members of the opposition also asked Kim as to whether he would declare martial law or recommend Yoon to do so. He dismissed this, saying "I think talk about martial law is out of date; if it is declared, who would accept it? Do you think the military would even follow the order?"
Democratic Representative Park Sun-won would point out that along with Kim's appointment, several key military positions have been filled with figures who had personal connections to Yoon, all of whom graduated from the same alma mater, Chungam High School. Park would also point out that these figures were also being promoted to higher roles consistently. Park then suggested that these key military figures could play a critical role in imposing martial law in a contingency. Kim dismissed these speculations, stating; "Confirmation hearings are not a place for false propaganda based on misinformation."