[News Today] YOON NAMES NEW NIS DEP. DIRECTOR

[LEAD]
Meanwhile, President Yoon Suk Yeol has appointed Oh Ho-ryong as the new first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service. This follows after the former deputy, Hong Jang-won, exposed orders he claimed to have received from the President concerning martial law. Even with his presidential duties nearly suspended and an impeachment vote imminent, President Yoon used his right to appoint a government official.

[REPORT]
President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Oh Ho-ryong. a special aide to the spy agency chief, as the new first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service.

Oh is the successor to Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director who had revealed the President's martial law related orders to "round them all up" and "wipe everything clean."

It didn't take even a full day for the president to fire and replace the NIS official.

In an exclusive interview with KBS, former deputy director Hong said that NIS chief Cho Tae-yong had asked him to step down at around 4 p.m. on December 5th, two days after martial law was declared.
The NIS director reportedly told him that it was 'the President's decision.'

Hong was dismissed at around 7 p.m. on December 6th after he had disclosed the President's orders at the National Assembly. The new first deputy director was appointed that very night.

The President exercised his right to appoint public officials even when his presidential duties had essentially been suspended due to the martial law incident and when he was facing his own impeachment vote the following day on December 7th.

He had appointed three new officials after martial law was lifted.
They are defense minister nominee Choi Byung-hyuk, Truth and Reconciliation Commission head Park Sun-young and the new NIS deputy director.

The President suggested that he would take a backseat in an address to the nation just fifteen hours after he had named a new NIS official.

This is why the NIS belatedly made an announcement two days after Oh was appointed when the Office of the President should have announced the new vice minister-level appointment.

NIS chief Cho said in an exclusive interview with KBS that martial law had compelled him and the first deputy director to cancel all their overseas business trips slated for December 4th.

Speculations run rampant over what pushed the President to make such rash personnel decisions when the short-lived martial law declaration had practically paralyzed the functions of the NIS and when its ex-deputy director's revelation had brought public attention to the spy agency.