Ground Operations Commander Joo Sung-woon Removed from Duty... Martial Law-Related Probe Requested

Phone Call Confirmed With Brigadier General Gu Samhoe
of "Martial Law Investigation Unit 2" While He Was on Standby at the Defense Intelligence Command

The Ministry of National Defense has removed Army Ground Operations Commanding General Joo Sung-woon (four-star general), who has been identified as being implicated in allegations related to the declaration of martial law, from his duties and has requested an investigation.

Yonhap News Agency

Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyu-baek stated at the February 12 briefing on the "Task Force on Government Innovation for Respecting the Constitution" activity results, "We have identified allegations related to martial law involving the current Ground Operations Commander, who was the commander of the 1st Corps at the time of the martial law declaration, and as of today we have relieved him of his duties and requested an investigation." However, regarding the specific charges, he said, "This is not yet at a stage where I can talk about them, as the matter is under investigation."

At the time of the emergency martial law, General Joo was the commander of the 1st Corps and the superior officer of Gu Samhoe, then commander of the Army 2nd Armored Brigade (brigadier general), who was involved in the martial law plan. Brigadier General Gu received a mission from former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won to lead "Martial Law Investigation Unit 2," which was to investigate alleged election fraud. Before the martial law was declared, he had preemptively taken leave and was standing by at a special forces unit under the Defense Intelligence Command located in Pangyo.

General Joo had maintained that he was unaware of Brigadier General Gu's involvement in the martial law plan. However, it has recently been reported that a tip-off confirmed he had in fact spoken by phone with Brigadier General Gu while Gu was in Pangyo. At that time, General Joo is said not to have issued any order for Brigadier General Gu to return to his unit. This has raised suspicions that General Joo may have knowingly turned a blind eye to Brigadier General Gu's involvement in the martial law scheme.

General Joo is a graduate of the 48th class of the Korea Military Academy. In September last year, in the first round of general officer appointments under the Lee Jaemyung administration, he was promoted to full general and assumed command of the Ground Operations Command. At a National Assembly National Defense Committee audit in October last year, General Joo stated, "I would like to offer my deepest apologies to the people for the fact that some elements of our military participated in an illegal emergency martial law and thereby caused great concern."

General Joo also attended the funeral service held today for the Army Cobra helicopter pilots who died in the line of duty. With General Joo removed from his duties, Deputy Ground Operations Commander Seo Jinha will serve as acting commander.

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