Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun and President Park In-su Meeting on Martial Law Day Afternoon

President Park An-su: "Meeting with Minister Park on the day of martial law declaration afternoon"
"Did not recall during National Defense Committee questioning on the 5th"

It has been confirmed that former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun issued an order to "stand by near the Gwacheon Government Complex" before the declaration of martial law. This is said to be the reason why 10 field-grade officers were dispatched to the National Election Commission.

Yonhap News

On the 10th, Moon Sang-ho (Army Major General), Commander of the Defense Security Command, appeared at an emergency hearing of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly and responded to a question from Kim Byung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stating that he dispatched 10 field-grade officers to the National Election Commission under the order of former Minister Kim.

Commander Moon Sang-ho: "Dispatch to the Election Commission was Minister's Order"

He said, "I remember receiving the order around 10 to 11 a.m. on the day of the martial law declaration," adding, "The first order was to form about one team and have them stand by because night missions could be assigned that week." He continued, "After the first order, I received instructions that a mission could be assigned during the night of that day, and at the time of receiving that order, I was told to have them stand by near the Gwacheon Government Complex around 9 p.m."

Lee Chang-yeop, Chief of Staff of the Defense Security Command, denied involvement in drafting the 'December 3 Martial Law Proclamation' on the same day. There had been suspicions that the proclamation, which faced criticism for being unconstitutional from its first clause, was drafted under the direction of Defense Security Commander Yeo In-hyung, an alumnus of the same 'Chung-Ang High School' as President Yoon Seok-yeol. When asked further whether the Chief of Staff's office actually drafted the proclamation, he emphasized, "Yes, that's correct."

Director Jeong Seong-woo of Defense Security Command: "Did Not Draft the Proclamation"

Jeong Seong-woo, Director of the 1st Division of the Defense Security Command, explained that the 'Martial Law Command - Joint Investigation Headquarters Operation Reference Material' disclosed by Democratic Party lawmaker Chu Mi-ae as a martial law preparation document was "a document prepared by the Chief of Staff's office in July last year." Director Jeong added, "It reflects the results of discussions from the February last year joint U.S.-South Korea exercise 'Freedom Shield' (FS) senior officer training, compiling a practical manual for martial law duties, explanatory materials, and various publicly available resources."

It was also confirmed that former Minister Kim Yong-hyun met with Army Chief of Staff Park An-soo, who served as the martial law commander on the day of the martial law declaration.

On that day, when Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Kyu-baek asked Park, "Did you have any schedule at 4 p.m. on the day of martial law?" Park replied, "There was a discussion on current issues." When asked with whom the discussion was held, Park said, "With Minister (Kim Yong-hyun)." When asked who else met with the minister, Park answered, "With me." When Ahn asked, "Was it just the two of you?" he said, "Yes."

The main workplace of the Army Chief of Staff is the Army Headquarters in Gyeryongdae. On the 3rd, the day martial law was declared, Park's official schedule included two events: morning field training supervision at a regional field unit under the 2nd Operational Command, and presiding over the change of command ceremony at the Korea Military Academy in Seoul at 2:30 p.m. Park had dinner on the evening of the 3rd with staff from the Army Chief of Staff's office, reportedly having boxed meals at his Seoul office located in the Army Hall adjacent to the Ministry of National Defense building.

When lawmaker Ahn pressed Park, asking, "Why did you say during the National Defense Committee hearing on the 5th that you had no specific schedule on the 3rd?" Park replied, "I don't remember well. There was the Korea Military Academy's change of command ceremony and many other things that day." Park explained the reason for having dinner in Seoul, saying, "After reporting on current issues to former Minister Kim at 4 p.m. on the 3rd, the minister told me to be at the minister's waiting room at 9:40 p.m., so I did not immediately go down to Gyeryongdae."

Regarding this, an Army official stated that the Army Chief of Staff had mentioned during the National Defense Committee plenary session on the 5th that "there was one current affairs report in the afternoon on the day martial law was declared," and that the information revealed during the emergency hearing on the 10th was not new. The official added that the report on the 5th was a general work report unrelated to martial law.

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