Ex-Capital Defense Command chief denies he was ordered to arrest politicians during martial law

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Ex-Capital Defense Command chief denies he was ordered to arrest politicians during martial law

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI


Lee Jin-woo, former head of the Capital Defense Command, left, speaks during President Yoon Suk Yeol's fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 4. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]

Lee Jin-woo, former head of the Capital Defense Command, left, speaks during President Yoon Suk Yeol's fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 4. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]

 
The former head of the Capital Defense Command denied on Tuesday that he had been ordered to arrest politicians during the short-lived imposition of martial law as he testified at President Yoon Suk Yeol’s fifth impeachment trial hearing.  
 
Lee Jin-woo, the former chief of the Capital Defense Command, was among three witnesses who appeared at the hearing on Tuesday, alongside Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service. Their testimonies were requested by the National Assembly’s impeachment investigation committee, the main plaintiff in the trial.  
 

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Yoon, who attended the hearing in person for a third time, insisted that “nothing actually happened,” comparing the situation to "chasing the shadow of the moon on a lake."
 
Lee, who was indicted and detained on Dec. 31 for his alleged involvement in the martial law plot, is accused of deploying troops to the National Assembly and ordering them to enter the compound with police assistance.  
 
When Yoon’s legal team asked whether the order was “lawful under martial law,” Lee responded that he had “no reason to believe it was unlawful or unconstitutional,” as it had been announced and broadcast by the presidentthe commander in chief and a former prosecutor general well-versed in the law.  
 
“When the defense minister told me to immediately go to the National Assembly, I understood it as an operational instruction,” Lee said.  
 
Asked whether he had received direct orders from the president to arrest anyone, Lee said, “No,” and declined to provide further testimony on the matter.  
 
He also refused to disclose details about his command of the military operation at the National Assembly, citing concerns about perjury, as he had received multiple calls and managed the operation in real-time.  
 
Lee confirmed that former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun had instructed him to go to the National Assembly but had not assigned specific missions.  
 
When Constitutional Court Justice Kim Hyung-du asked whether refusing the order would be considered “disobedience,” Lee replied, “I remember the former minister saying that failing to comply would be disobedience.”  
 
During the hearing, Lee refused to answer most questions from the National Assembly’s legal representatives. He was reportedly ordered by Yoon to “break down the door, even by shooting, and drag [them] out.”  
 
When the National Assembly's side asked whether he had received three phone calls from Yoon, Lee said he was “limited in how he could respond.” He also declined to confirm whether the president had ordered one arrest per four soldiers.  
 
Before his testimony, Lee asked for understanding regarding his limited responses, as he is also involved in a criminal case. 
 
When the National Assembly’s legal team suggested installing partitions as he refused to answer their questions, Lee dismissed the need, saying that he was testifying “with dignity.”  
 
As the hearing began, the Constitutional Court said that partitions could be installed at a witness’s request but did not allow testimony to be given in Yoon’s absence.  
 
 President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during his fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 4. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during his fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 4. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]

 
Following Lee’s testimony, Yoon addressed the court himself, denying that he had attempted to prevent lawmakers from lifting martial law.
 
“I cannot speak on behalf of those testifying based on their memory,” Yoon said, “but if you consider this from a common sense perspective, you will see the reality of the situation.”  
 
Yeo In-hyung, the former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, also refused to answer questions about Yoon’s alleged order to arrest politicians, saying he would answer them during his criminal trial. Yeo was indicted and detained on Dec. 31, along with Lee, over his alleged involvement in the martial law declaration.
 
However, he admitted to requesting the locations of certain individuals during a phone call with National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho on Dec. 3.
 
"I remember making two requests. The first was a request to send police personnel because a joint investigation headquarters needed to be formed under laws and operational plans, and the second was to locate specific individuals on a particular list," he said.
 
Hong Jang-won, the former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, was scheduled to testify after Lee and Yeo as of press time.  
 
On the same day, Yoon’s legal team petitioned the Seoul Central District Court to revoke his arrest ahead of the court’s first preparatory hearing for his criminal trial on Feb. 20. The court must decide on his arrest within seven days of receiving the request.  
 
Yoon has been held at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, since investigators arrested him at the presidential residence on Jan. 15. He was indicted on Jan. 26 on charges of masterminding the martial law plot and abusing his authority. 

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]
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