The ousted South Korean defense minister testifies that he wants more extensive martial law than the president.
South Korean prosecutors asked prosecutors to indict jailed President Yun Suk-yeol last month for his brief stint under martial law, after the country’s ousted defense minister testified that he wanted more military deployment than Yoon.
In his second appearance in court on Thursday, Yunus again defended the move, saying the Dec. 3 martial law decree was only meant to publicize the dangers of an opposition-controlled National Assembly. After the council rejected the decision, he argued that the martial law order had ended prematurely by withdrawing the troops too quickly.
“The reason martial law was declared was not a warning to the opposition. I was trying to appeal to the people to be strictly controlled and criticized,” Yun said at the Constitutional Court. Court said. “No matter how many warnings I gave to the opposition, they would have been of no use.”
Yun was indicted and suspended by the assembly on December 14. The Constitutional Court is deliberating on whether to oust Yeon from office or reinstate him.
At the same hearing, Yoon’s defense minister, during the martial law enforcement, Kim Yong Yoon, supported the president’s argument and issued the proclamation and presented it to Yoon.
Kim, a close ally of Yoon’s and who is in prison, said that Yoon had asked him to remove the curfew from the proclamation, deploy a smaller number of troops to the summit than he had originally proposed, and stop soldiers from carrying live ammunition.
Asked by UN lawyers whether the president shot down the defense minister’s proposal to mobilize all military units in Seoul, Kim responded.
Kim confirmed that he had proposed sending some units to opposition party headquarters and a left-wing polling agency.
Kim’s statements could not immediately be independently verified. He has previously said that the responsibility for enforcing martial law rests solely with him. It comes days after martial law was passed, which prohibits suicide attempts while in custody.
In the year Since taking office in 2022, Yun, a conservative, has battled constant disagreements with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has stymied his agenda and impeached some of his top officials. In his declaration of martial law, Yun called it a “den of criminals” that interferes with government affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameful North Korean followers and anti-national forces.”
The president has been accused of abuse of power.
Yeon Martial Law, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than 40 years, lasted just six hours. Yon sent soldiers and police officers into the National Assembly, but enough lawmakers entered the chamber to unanimously demand an end to the state of emergency.
Yun and Kim said the troops and police forces they sent were designed to maintain peace. But the opposition and investigative officials believe lawmakers tried to seal the assembly to prevent them from repealing its provisions and plotting to arrest some politicians. Yoon and Kim denied this.
Yoon is seen occasionally criticizing Kim during his testimony.
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested and questioned by authorities in connection with a criminal assault investigation. He said he was only cooperating with the alleged illegal investigation to avoid violence. An estimated 3,000 police officers were deployed to Yon’s presidential compound, bringing wire cutters and ladders.
Earlier on Thursday, the Corruption Investigation Bureau (CIO) said that Yun, in collaboration with Kim and other military commanders, staged a coup d’état in an attempt to subvert the constitution by creating “riots” and declaring martial law. The CIO also accused Yeon of abusing his power by mobilizing troops for legitimate purposes and obstructing parliament’s right to vote to end martial law.
By law, a leader of a rebellion can be sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty. Since being arrested by the CIO, Yun has denied efforts to question him. He argued that both the investigation and the arrest were illegal.
CIO Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Jae-seung said in a televised press conference that, “as you know, despite facing serious charges nationwide as a leader of the insurgency, the suspect has remained steadfast and defied criminal proceedings.” .
Yun’s defense team released a statement accusing the CIO of “humiliating” Yun by violating his human rights by trying to pressure him to talk to investigators and keeping him from contacting family members.
In his first appearance at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, Yun denied that the military ordered lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting. The commanders of the military units sent to the assembly testified that they had ordered Yun to expel the lawmakers.
Yoon’s martial law has shaken South Korea’s politics and financial markets and damaged its international image. Yoon’s subsequent defiance and opposition push to oust him have exacerbated South Korea’s already serious internal divisions.