Special Forces Commander: "Yoon Personally Called and Ordered to Break Doors and Drag Out Lawmakers"

Phone Call Revealed at National Defense Committee on the Afternoon of the 10th
"Received Mission to Secure 6 Locations Including the National Assembly on the 1st"
"Stopped It Judging It Was Not Right...
Did Not Report Measures to the President"

Army Special Warfare Command Commander Gwak Jong-geun revealed that he received an order from President Yoon Seok-yeol during the declaration of martial law to "drag the lawmakers out."

General Gwak Jong-geun, Commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, shows a stern expression as he reveals the phone conversation with President Yoon Suk-yeol during the martial law period at the National Assembly National Defense Committee plenary session on the afternoon of the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

Commander Gwak appeared before the National Assembly's Defense Committee on the 10th and said, "The president called me directly on a secure phone," adding, "He said it seemed the quorum for the vote had not yet been met, so I was ordered to break down the door quickly and drag out the people inside."

He said, "After hearing that order, I wondered what to do. So, I discussed with the field commanders whether we should enter by firing warning shots or cut off the electricity to prevent access. The field commanders clearly told me, 'No, that is restricted.' I also judged that their stance was correct and appropriate."

Kim Hyun-tae, commander of the 707 Special Mission Group, who also appeared, stated, "I told the commander that pushing further would be dangerous, and he said, 'Understood, do not proceed.'"

Commander Gwak added, "Even if we had entered to carry out the order, the troops involved would later become lawbreakers, and forcibly breaking in would cause too many injuries, so I judged that it was not right." He continued, "Therefore, I ordered to stop any further entry from the current position. I stopped the operation and only observed the movement without further action."

When asked whether he reported the measures to President Yoon, Commander Gwak said, "I did not report it, but when withdrawing, I explained the current situation to the former Minister (Kim Yong-hyun) and then withdrew."

Commander Gwak had a phone call with President Yoon on the 6th, during which the president asked about the troop locations, and he replied, "Moving toward the National Assembly." During the morning session of the Defense Committee that day, he revealed that there was a second call with President Yoon but initially said, "I am restricted from disclosing the details," before later revealing the specifics in the afternoon session.

He said the second call took place "around 00:30 to 00:40 on the 4th, as far as I remember."

Commander Gwak also stated that he was aware of the preliminary details of martial law before its declaration on the 3rd, specifically on the 1st. Regarding the instructions received on the 1st, he said, "My mission was to secure six locations: the National Assembly, three election commission offices, the Democratic Party headquarters, and the public opinion survey 'Kkot' (Flower)." He added, "I received the mission via a secure wired phone from the former Minister of National Defense."

Commander Gwak explained, "I only conceptualized in my mind, 'If this really happens, this is how it should be done,' but I did not tell the brigade commanders under my command because speaking about it could cause problems for them. I only discussed it when deploying on the day." However, he clarified, "I did not consider this as martial law but rather was more concerned about the possibility of problems arising from situations at the front lines at that time."

When asked whether the president used words like 'guns, shooting, warning shots, armored vehicles,' he replied, "Not to my recollection." Lieutenant General Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defense Command, who also appeared, said, "I do not remember" in response to the same question.

Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "Commander Gwak did not testify to the prosecution about his prior knowledge. He said he did not testify because the statements of those involved in martial law had already been coordinated. He made a public interest report to me today."

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