Sang-min Lee: "Martial Law is a High-Level Governance Act... Not an Act Pointing Guns at the People"

In response to the question of whether it constitutes a martial law situation,
"It is not appropriate for me to comment."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min avoided giving a definitive answer on whether President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law constitutes an emergency martial law situation, describing it as a 'high-level act of governance.'

On the 5th, during a National Assembly Administration and Security Committee inquiry regarding martial law, Lee responded to a question from Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "As the Minister of the Interior and Safety, do you consider the current situation to fall under emergency martial law?" by saying, "(Martial law) is a high-level political and governance act, so it does not seem appropriate for me to comment on it."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Sang-min Lee, National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Bong-sik Kim are attending an emergency inquiry regarding the police response during martial law at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the 5th. Photo by Hyun-min Kim

Regarding the part of President Yoon's martial law declaration statement mentioning the 'eradication of anti-state forces,' Lee said, "It is not appropriate for me to evaluate each and every word of the President."

When Representative Yoon emphasized, "This is not something to be passed over lightly like a snake crossing a wall. Martial law is a military operation where the President points a gun at the people," Minister Lee firmly replied, "I do not think martial law is an act of pointing a gun at the people."

Shin Jeong-hoon, Chairman of the Administration and Security Committee (Democratic Party of Korea), immediately asked Minister Lee whether a legal judgment had been made at the pre-martial law Cabinet meeting on whether the current situation met the requirements stipulated in the Martial Law Act.

Minister Lee explained, "There was no time to make such a legal judgment at that time," adding, "If I had ever thought about martial law before, I would have studied it, but reviewing whether the conditions are met on the spot is impossible in reality."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.