"Pull out 'agents,' not 'members'?… Former Special Forces Commander Refutes: 'Not True'"

Kwak Jong-geun Directly Refutes Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun's Claim
"Agents Were Not Even Inside the Main Building"

Former Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun is answering questions at the hearing of the "Special Committee for the National Investigation into the Alleged Insurrection Charges through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Government," held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Yonhap News.

Former Army Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun refuted the claim made by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun that he was ordered to pull out 'agents' rather than 'members of the National Assembly' from inside the National Assembly during the declaration of martial law on December 3 last year.

On the 4th, Kwak appeared before the 'Special Committee for the Truth Investigation of the Treason Charges through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Suk-yeol Government' held at the National Assembly and stated, "The president personally called me on a secure phone and instructed me, 'It seems the quorum for the resolution has not yet been met, so pull out the personnel inside.'

Former Minister Kim appeared as a witness on the 23rd of last month at the 4th hearing of President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court and stated that he was ordered to remove agents, not members of the National Assembly, during the martial law. Kwak's remarks on this day directly contradict Kim's claims.

Kwak pointed out that "At the time when I was told to pull out the agents, those personnel (agents) were not even inside the main building."

In particular, Kwak explained that right after the National Assembly passed the resolution to lift martial law, during a phone call with former Minister Kim, when he said he would withdraw, the response was "Understood," followed by "It would have been better if you had held out a little longer."

Kwak also responded "Yes" to Democratic Party lawmaker Chu Mi-ae's question, "Was there no other target besides members of the National Assembly or their aides?"

Kwak further stated, "Before or during the martial law situation, I never heard anyone say 'Maintain order,' 'Protect citizens,' or 'This is a warning.'

Regarding the military's withdrawal from the National Assembly at that time, Kwak said, "Let me make it clear, this was the result of truly wise judgment and response by the field commanders, the commander of the 707 Special Mission Group, and the operational personnel."

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