Gwak Jong-geun: "It is true that President Yoon told me to pull out the member of the National Assembly"

Former Army Special Warfare Command Commander Gwak Jong-geun testified that President Yoon Seok-yeol ordered him to bring lawmakers out of the National Assembly during the December 3 emergency martial law.

Jong-geun Kwak, former Special Warfare Commander. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 6th, Gwak appeared as a witness at the 6th hearing of President Yoon's impeachment trial held at the Constitutional Court. When the National Assembly's legal representative asked, "Is it correct that the target President Yoon ordered you to bring out was the lawmakers inside the National Assembly building?" he replied, "That is exactly correct."

He continued, "At that time, there were no operatives inside the main building," and said, "Since I received the call in that state, I naturally understood that the people inside to be quickly brought out were the lawmakers."

When the National Assembly's legal representative asked, "President Yoon called my private phone around 12:30 a.m. on December 4 and said, 'It seems the quorum for the National Assembly vote has not been met yet. Go inside the National Assembly building and quickly bring out the people inside the assembly hall.' Is this true?" he answered, "Yes, that is true."

Additionally, when asked by the National Assembly's side, "Did you receive instructions from former Minister Kim to prevent the number of lawmakers from falling below about 150, to quickly open the door, enter, and bring out the lawmakers?" he responded, "Yes."

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