Broadcaster Kim Ou-joon goes into hiding for 36 hours amid president's martial law attempt
Broadcaster and YouTuber Kim Ou-joon / Captured from his YouTube channel News Factory
Broadcaster and YouTuber Kim Ou-joon said he went into hiding minutes after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law last week and kept a low profile for 36 hours in a place "far away," even after martial law was revoked by the nation's parliament.
Fearing for his life after being tipped off that he was in danger, "I thought I was going to die," he said in an interview with Reuters.
Kim, who is left-leaning and anti-establishment, appears to have been the only media figure targeted by the martial law.
Video footage provided by Kim shows at least 20 soldiers armed with guns arriving outside the studio building in central Seoul right after the Dec. 3 martial law declaration. He was at home, however, and it was not clear if soldiers were also sent there.
"Two buses, a truck and a command vehicle ... and a few armed martial law troops we caught on camera arrived at the office," Kim told Reuters. "It's obvious an arrest team was in operation, and they were trying to get their hands on our office."
An image provided by YouTuber Kim Ou-joon shows at least 20 soldiers armed with guns arriving outside his studio in Seoul on Dec. 3. Captured from his YouTube channel
Last year, Kim moved his show to YouTube from the state-funded TV and radio channel TBS after Seoul's conservative-run city government pulled his funding.
When asked why he thinks he was targeted by martial law, Kim said he thinks it was "personal."
The broadcaster hosts his weekday morning show on YouTube and has nearly 1.8 million followers.