Yoon ordered troops to drag lawmakers out of Assembly: special forces commander
Kwak Jong-keun, former chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol himself had ordered the then-chief of the Army Special Warfare Command to "drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly" on the night he declared martial law, the commander said Tuesday.
It had previously been reported that former National Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a key figure behind the military move, gave such orders to prevent lawmakers from voting to annul the law.
Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun said at a National Assembly session that Yoon personally called him on a secure phone — a mobile device equipped with anti-eavesdropping technology — to tell him that "it seems the parliamentary quorum (for voting to annul martial law) has not yet been met. Break down the door immediately and remove those inside."
Upon receiving that order, the commander discussed with field officers whether they should fire blanks to enter the Assembly's main chamber or cut off electricity to stop their activities. They finally decided that it was not right to carry out the order from the president.
"If we did so, the troops would become criminals and forcible entry would result in many casualties, so we concluded it was wrong," Kwak said.
Kwak also revealed that he was aware of the martial law plans prior to its declaration on Dec. 3, as he had received orders from the former minister through a secure phone line on Dec.1.
"My assignment was to secure six locations, including the National Assembly, the National Election Commission, the (main opposition) Democratic Party of Korea headquarters and public opinion polling agencies," he said. In addition, Kwak testified that the former defense minister had also ordered the special warfare military unit on the day of the martial law declaration to ensure that no more than 150 lawmakers — the quorum for the vote — were present at the Assembly.
Kwak said that he received the order from Kim at the combat control room, explaining that, since he was on speakerphone, the former defense chief's instructions were heard directly by his subordinates. These included guidance on how to enter the plenary hall, as well as instructions on using blank ammunition and tasers.
"It wasn't my intention to issue these orders," Kwak said. "The content of the instructions was simply broadcast via the speakerphone function, which led to confusion among my subordinates."
He added that after receiving the order, he and the field commanders both shared the common understanding that this was wrong.
"Despite knowing that it could constitute an act of disobedience, I took into account the safety of the public, the potential risks to the operation forces and the legal consequences, and ultimately decided to halt the operation to prevent further entry into the Assembly," he said.
Kwak is one of the former military commanders under investigation for his role in enforcing the martial law declaration. Along with Kwak, the parliamentary defense committee meeting was attended by Army Chief of Staff Park An-su and other military officials, including Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho.
Orders to secure election commission server, voter registration lists
Brig. Gen. Jeong Seong-woo, left, chief of the first division at the Defense Counterintelligence Command, speaks during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Brig. Gen. Jeong Seong-woo, chief of the first division at the Defense Counterintelligence Command, also revealed that at the time of the emergency martial law declaration late on Tuesday evening, Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung had ordered him to either copy or remove the entire server containing voter registration lists at the National Election Commission.
Legal officers of the counterintelligence command strongly opposed the copying and seizure of the election commission's server. They reportedly refused to comply with the order, after a careful review of the legality of such actions.
Army Maj. Gen. Moon Sang-ho, chief of the Defense Intelligence Command, also stated that the former defense minister had issued orders regarding the deployment of troops to the election commission.
"I received the order around 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the day of the martial law declaration," Moon said, detailing that the instruction was to organize and have one team stand by, as there might be a mission to carry out during the night.
"Afterward, I was instructed to get the team ready near the Government Complex in Gwacheon around 9 p.m.," he said.
It has been reported that President Yoon Suk Yeol and the former defense minister believed there was widespread election fraud in the 2020 general elections. Part of their rationale behind the sudden martial law declaration, as explained by Kim himself, was to investigate whether such election fraud rumors were real by securing the election commission's servers.
Meanwhile, former Defense Minister Kim decided not to attend a court hearing scheduled to review an arrest warrant for him on charges of treason and other offenses related to the investigation into Yoon's failed martial law attempt.
A Seoul court was set to hold an arraignment hearing at 3 p.m. Tuesday to decide whether to issue the writ for Kim over his role in the fiasco.
"I alone take full responsibility for this situation. I will waive (my right to attend) the hearing for the detention warrant," Kim's representative said Tuesday. "The soldiers under my command were merely carrying out my orders and fulfilling their assigned duties," he said, asking for leniency for them.