South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol authorized the military to fire their weapons if necessary as he forced his way into parliament during his failed attempt to impose martial law, according to a prosecutors’ report seen by AFP on Saturday.
A 10-page summary of former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun’s prosecution indictment report, which was provided to the media, also says Yoon vowed three times on December 3 to declare martial law if needed.
Yun, who was removed from his duties by the National Assembly this month, is under investigation for his short-lived attempt to overthrow civilian rule, which plunged the country into political turmoil and led to his impeachment.
Yoon’s lawyer Yoon Kab-kyun rejected the prosecutors’ report, telling AFP it was a “one-sided description that matches neither the objective circumstances nor common sense”.
As lawmakers arrived at parliament to reject Yun’s martial law declaration on 3 December, heavily armed soldiers entered the building, scaled fences, broke windows and descended on helicopters.
According to the prosecution’s indictment report, Yoon told Lee Jin-woo, head of the Capital Defense Command, that military forces could open fire to enter the National Assembly if necessary.
According to the report, Yun told Lee, “Have you still not come in? What are you doing? Break down the door and drag them out, even if it means shooting.”
Yun reportedly told General Kwak Jong-kyun, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, to “quickly go inside” the National Assembly because the quorum was not met to lift the martial law declaration.
“Go inside the National Assembly so quickly and bring out the people inside the chamber, and if necessary break the doors with an ax and drag everyone out,” the report quoted Yoon as saying at the time.
When lawmakers rushed inside parliament on the morning of December 4 and voted 190–0 to repeal Yoon’s declaration, Yoon is reported to have told Lee, “Even if it is lifted, I I may declare martial law for the second or third time, so just keep going.”
The report also included screenshots of messages from senior defense officials from the day of the martial law declaration.
It said there was evidence that Yun was discussing declaring martial law with senior military officials as early as March.
The announcement followed a budget dispute between Yun’s party and the opposition.
A few days later, Yun said in a speech that he apologized for the “concern and inconvenience” and promised that there would not be a second declaration of martial law.
Kim, a former defense minister, was arrested this month for his role in the failed martial law effort.
Opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Sun-woo said in a statement Saturday that “the prosecution has unquestionably exposed the ugly truth about traitorous ringleader Yoon Suk Yeol,” adding that he “should be immediately arrested.” “.
South Korea’s constitutional court held its first preliminary hearing on the legality of Yoon’s impeachment on Friday, attended by the suspended president’s legal team.
The court will also decide the fate of Yoon’s replacement, Han Duck-soo, who was impeached on Friday over his refusal to complete Yoon’s impeachment process and bring him to justice.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
