Investigate the scheme to provoke the North
Published: 23 Dec. 2024, 19:07
The National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency has found circumstantial evidence of our military having attempted to provoke an armed clash with North Korea to help justify President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. The investigation headquarters explained that it had discovered a memo on “inducing the North’s attack from the Northern Limit Line” at a shaman’s house operated by Noh Sang-won — former chief of the Defense Intelligence Command — for his possible connection to the declaration of martial law.
The police said they couldn’t confirm if the military put the scheme into action. We are dumbfounded that such an idea could come from a former two-star general who played a pivotal role in the Army. Noh was known to have helped former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun orchestrate martial law.
If the military really wanted to trigger a military clash to justify martial law, it constitutes a grave crime. The act of endangering national security by drawing in external forces can be subjected to a death sentence. Our Constitution stipulates that the president can declare martial law during wartime or such national emergencies. The participants in the martial law stint would know very well that the Dec. 3 martial law case doesn’t qualify for these conditions.
The acceleration of law enforcement authorities’ investigations into the suspicious lead-up to the martial law declaration exposes the lax discipline of our armed forces. How could a retired Army general bring an incumbent head of the intelligence command and colonels over to a hamburger joint to discuss the details of martial law? Major Gen. Moon Sang-ho, who attended the gathering while on active duty, is being investigated by the police. According to a testimony, Noh, the former chief of the military intelligence command, even ordered the head of a tank brigade to wait in his office after meeting with the defense minister on the day when martial law was declared. If these suspicions are true, it means that even our tank forces were mobilized for martial law instead of fighting against North Korean troops.
Noh’s memo also included the shocking line implying the arrest of “politicians, journalists, religious leaders, union members, judges and civil servants.” Some of their names were mentioned in the memo. Under martial law, arresting civilians without clear grounds violates the Constitution. Even our military dictators refrained from detaining judges.
Another suspicion arose that Noh, the former intelligence commander, attempted to secure the server of the National Election Commission by setting up a fake investigation team inside the command to find evidence of election fraud by the election management body. We urge the police and other investigation agencies to get to the bottom of the deepening suspicions about the military.
The police said they couldn’t confirm if the military put the scheme into action. We are dumbfounded that such an idea could come from a former two-star general who played a pivotal role in the Army. Noh was known to have helped former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun orchestrate martial law.
If the military really wanted to trigger a military clash to justify martial law, it constitutes a grave crime. The act of endangering national security by drawing in external forces can be subjected to a death sentence. Our Constitution stipulates that the president can declare martial law during wartime or such national emergencies. The participants in the martial law stint would know very well that the Dec. 3 martial law case doesn’t qualify for these conditions.
The acceleration of law enforcement authorities’ investigations into the suspicious lead-up to the martial law declaration exposes the lax discipline of our armed forces. How could a retired Army general bring an incumbent head of the intelligence command and colonels over to a hamburger joint to discuss the details of martial law? Major Gen. Moon Sang-ho, who attended the gathering while on active duty, is being investigated by the police. According to a testimony, Noh, the former chief of the military intelligence command, even ordered the head of a tank brigade to wait in his office after meeting with the defense minister on the day when martial law was declared. If these suspicions are true, it means that even our tank forces were mobilized for martial law instead of fighting against North Korean troops.
Noh’s memo also included the shocking line implying the arrest of “politicians, journalists, religious leaders, union members, judges and civil servants.” Some of their names were mentioned in the memo. Under martial law, arresting civilians without clear grounds violates the Constitution. Even our military dictators refrained from detaining judges.
Another suspicion arose that Noh, the former intelligence commander, attempted to secure the server of the National Election Commission by setting up a fake investigation team inside the command to find evidence of election fraud by the election management body. We urge the police and other investigation agencies to get to the bottom of the deepening suspicions about the military.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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