Kim Jong-dae: "Some Units Returned Due to Initial Operation Setbacks... They Tried to Seize the Entire National Assembly Building"

"7·11 Gongsudo Seoul Deployment Plan... Gwak Jong-geun Likely Knew About Martial Law in Advance"

Former Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae claimed that the martial law troops were not just a part of the Army Special Warfare Command (Special Forces), but in fact constituted the majority of the units, and stated, "Due to operational setbacks in the initial stage, some units were unable to execute and had to return."

Military expert Kim, on the 9th, said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that he received reports from Special Forces unit members and remarked, "The deployment of martial law troops seen so far was just the tip of the iceberg."

On the 4th, when President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, martial law troops were preparing to enter the National Assembly main building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

He said, "Martial law was declared at 10:23 PM on December 3rd, but it seems the Special Forces had their troops on standby from just before 7 PM," adding, "Since the purpose of the standby was not explained, the unit members thought it was a training standby." He continued, "Training standbys are canceled if the weather is bad, and since snowflakes were falling that day, the Special Warfare Aviation Unit neglected preparations, assuming the deployment would be canceled. When the Special Forces commander learned of this, he ordered the standby again and was reportedly very angry."

Kim said, "Because of this, the 1st Airborne and 9th Airborne units arrived at the National Assembly 48 minutes later than the ordered time of 11 PM," adding, "Other airborne units like the 3rd Airborne were already on standby to join, but the 3rd Airborne troops were dispatched additionally to the National Assembly and had to return when martial law was lifted."

Kim also stated, "There was a deployment plan for the 7th and 11th Airborne units from Iksan or Damyang in Jeollado to move to Seoul on December 4th," and "All brigade commanders gathered at the Special Warfare Command on December 2nd, the day before martial law was declared, for a Special Forces event."

He added, "It appears that preparation orders were issued to all brigades at that time, and on December 3rd, the 1st and 9th Airborne units came first to occupy the National Assembly building. Troop reinforcements were planned to continue until the next day, which would have meant not just hundreds but thousands of troops. It seems there was a plan to take full control of the National Assembly building."

Kim also pointed out that Army Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun's claim in an interview with Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo that he "learned of the martial law declaration through media reports" was a lie. He said, "First, the commander was reportedly very angry that helicopters did not take off on time, and he was deeply distressed over the vote to lift martial law at 1 AM. These scenes of distress were all exposed to the staff."

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