Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Ex-defense minister defends Yoon over botched martial law plot
Former Defense Minister Kim Youg-hyun's lawyers, Yoo Seung-soo, right, and Lee Ha-sang, attend a press conference at Corea Conference Center in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Investigators issue 3rd summons to question president on Dec. 29
President Yoon Suk Yeol exercised his power within the bounds of the law and the Constitution when he imposed martial law on Dec. 3, lawyers for former Defense Minister Kim Young-hyun claimed, Thursday.
Kim is one of the key figures who allegedly plotted the martial law scheme with Yoon.
In an apparent attempt to protect the president from allegations of treason and other legal risks, lawmakers Yoo Seung-soo and Lee Ha-sang also said Yoon told Kim not to block assembly representatives from entering parliament, where they voted to nullify the military rule about two hours after its imposition.
“As stated multiple times by the president, the goal of the martial law decree was to sound an alarm against the Assembly’s unconstitutional behavior. If the goal was to impose martial law effectively, he would have deployed military forces in advance to block access to the Assembly and carried out the action under the cover of darkness,” Yoo said during a press conference in Seoul.
Yoo added that the president achieved the goal of sending a wake-up call and violated no law in doing so, claiming that the brief imposition of martial law does not constitute the criminal offense of treason.
“The Constitution says that a president has the sole authority to issue an emergency martial law,” Yoo said. “He did so to sound an alarm, and there were no casualties. After lawmakers’ vote to lift the decree, the troops apparently withdrew in an orderly way upon the direction of their commanders.”
The lawyers said the initial draft of the martial law plan was written by the former minister, who was arrested on charges of insurrection and abuse of power on Dec. 10.
Yoon then ordered him to remove a part limiting citizens' freedom of movement, the lawyers said, adding that he did so out of consideration for the potential inconvenience it would cause to their economic activities and daily lives.
Speaking of the reasons for the martial law decision, the lawyers also mentioned suspicions of election fraud — a conspiracy theory popular among some far-right YouTubers — and said it was necessary to investigate the National Election Commission.
They also denied any connection between the president and Noh Sang-won, former chief of the Defense Intelligence Command. Noh, known to be close to the former defense minister, was arrested for allegedly playing a key role in drafting the martial law plan.
Their denial comes amid investigations into Noh’s notebook, in which shocking information about the martial law plan was written, including a plot to provoke military attacks from North Korea as a means of justifying the emergency measure.
The lawyers said neither the president nor the former defense chief knew what was written in that notebook, but they admitted that the former minister and Noh had communicated in regard to issues related to election fraud speculation.
Activists hold a rally in front of the National Police Agency in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Based on what was written there, liberal activists filed a complaint with the police the same day, accusing Yoon of provoking a military move by Pyongyang “for his political interest.”
“If what was written was true and implemented as planned, it would have caused military conflict and possibly war on the Korean Peninsula,” the activists said in a statement. “Yoon, Kim and other insurrectionists should be investigated thoroughly to get to the bottom of the matter and punished accordingly.”
Other shocking plots like “removing” certain politicians, journalists, judges and government officials were also written in the notebook. But so far, police have not been able to find any evidence showing that these were reported to the former defense minister or the president.
After having so far failed to question Yoon over allegations of treason and other crimes, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials once again requested him to appear for interrogation at its office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, on Sunday.
The organization's first and second requests sent previously were ignored by the presidential office.
Typically, if a criminal suspect refuses to comply with such a request without a justifiable reason three times, investigators ask the court to issue a warrant for detention.
The investigative agency has been reviewing whether it would be necessary to request the warrant to enforce the law. How to respond to a potential third rejection by Yoon's office has not yet been determined, an official said.