Jeong Cheongrae Chokes Up Introducing 'Noh Sangwon Notebook' Report: "If Martial Law Had Not Been Stopped, a Tragedy Would Have Occurred"

Special Counsel Team Inspects Yeonpyeongdo Detention Facility

"A Miracle That Martial Law Was Prevented"

Shaking with Rage and Relief

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, became visibly emotional on May 8 while referencing the “Yeonpyeongdo Collection Center” noted in the notebook of former Army Intelligence Commander Noh Sangwon.

At a field leadership meeting held in Songpa-gu, Seoul that day, Jeong said, “I was once again chilled and shocked while watching the news yesterday. The grim reality of a brutal rebellion has been revealed. The contents from Noh Sangwon’s notebook were confirmed by the special counsel investigation.” He continued, “There were 18 iron cages, each capable of holding 500 people. If martial law had succeeded, President Lee Jaemyung (who was then the leader of the Democratic Party) and I might have been imprisoned there, or perhaps we would have ended up as food for crabs on the way there. Such nightmarish thoughts come to mind.”

The previous day, the joint special counsel team identified the “collection center” mentioned in Noh Sangwon’s notebook as the detention facility of the Marine Corps unit on Yeonpyeongdo and conducted an on-site inspection. The special counsel team stated, “In order to investigate Noh Sangwon, who is suspected of conspiracy to commit murder for the purpose of rebellion, we inspected a facility located in Yeonpyeong-myeon, Ongjin-gun, Incheon.” It is reported that former Commander Noh wrote about establishing a collection center on Yeonpyeongdo as a measure for handling top-priority detainees right before the December 3 Martial Law.

Yonhap News

As Jeong struggled to compose himself during his remarks, Han Byungdo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, and Jung Wonoh, the party’s Seoul mayoral candidate, gently patted Jeong on the back in support.

Jeong continued, “Looking at the graphic showing 16 locations, each holding 500 people, I couldn’t help but think that if we had failed to stop this (rebellion), a truly tragic disaster would have unfolded.” He went on, “Judge Jiguyon presided over the trial as if the martial law had been planned only a day or two in advance and was just a spontaneous incident. It is truly frustrating and infuriating. I can’t help but wonder whether the people whose names were written in that notebook might have been thrown into the sea from the boat to Yeonpyeongdo, or locked away behind iron bars and quietly killed without anyone knowing. So many thoughts come to mind.”

Jeong added, “While I breathe a sigh of relief, I still feel deeply unsettled. Wouldn’t those whose names were written in that notebook have felt the same way as I did when they saw the news? I am filled with chills and overwhelming anger.”

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