Former defense minister warned of leaks before martial law declaration, reports say

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun / Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok

Ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of emergency martial law on Dec. 3, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said, "It seems information is leaking," to those around him.

This revelation suggests the declaration may have been expedited, raising questions about the timing of the operation, which appears to have been hastily executed despite being meticulously planned.

In an exclusive report by the Hankook Ilbo, sources said that Kim made the comment on the afternoon of Dec. 3. He subsequently summoned Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su to the Ministry of National Defense and contacted three key commanders involved in the martial law incident: the heads of counterintelligence, special warfare and the Capital Defense Command.

While those who heard Kim’s remark were unclear on what exactly had leaked, some interpreted it as referring to the opposition party.

Rush to declare

The situation quickly escalated. That evening, Yoon convened a meeting at a secure location in Samcheong-dong, summoning National Police Agency Chief Cho Ji-ho, Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief Kim Bong-sik, former Defense Minister Kim and Army Chief of Staff Park.

A retired officer with experience working with former minister Kim said, "Since last year, there have been internal complaints that military secrets are no longer secure."

He added that on the day that martial law was declared, former defense minister Kim may have interpreted a public declaration from 14 retired generals, including opposition Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) Rep. Kim Byung-joo, who is also a former general, and former Capital Defense Commander Kim Do-kyun, "as a signal."

On Dec. 3, lawmaker Kim and the retired generals held a press conference at the National Assembly, issuing a statement calling for Yoon’s resignation. They accused Yoon of reckless governance and violence toward the public, declaring his actions intolerable.

The DPK claimed that during a luncheon, former defense minister Kim made remarks suggesting, "Crush them with tanks."

The party's fact-finding committee on Yoon’s alleged treason said, "At 11:40 a.m., on Dec. 3, during a luncheon at the National Defense Convention Center, (former defense minister) Kim said something to the effect of, ‘The National Assembly is toying with the defense budget; let’s just crush them with tanks.’"

Military forces withdraw from the National Assembly early on Dec. 4, following the parliamentary vote to lift emergency martial law. Yonhap

Other evidence suggests that martial law was implemented hastily. Noh Sang-won, a former intelligence commander and close associate of former defense minister Kim, tried to form a task force for the operation, drafting an emergency decree to seize the National Election Commission servers.

However, due to time constraints, the task force was never established. According to multiple military sources, Noh had planned to assemble a team of generals who met three criteria: they had to be graduates of the Korea Military Academy, hold the rank of major general, and be from the Yeongnam region.

The sudden declaration on Dec. 3 disrupted these plans. Furthermore, the military units mobilized for the attempt to establish martial law, saw their regular training schedules abruptly canceled or scaled back in the week leading up to the declaration.

On Dec. 3, the Ministry of National Defense canceled all exercises planned through mid-December, instructing units to remain on high alert instead. "There was a palpable sense that something unusual was happening," a military official recalled.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.