Explainer: Yoon impeachment trial a maze of conflicting testimony

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Explainer: Yoon impeachment trial a maze of conflicting testimony

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI


From left: President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defense Capital Command chief Lee Jin-woo, former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung and former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service Hong Jang-won speak during the fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 4. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]

From left: President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defense Capital Command chief Lee Jin-woo, former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung and former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service Hong Jang-won speak during the fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 4. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]

 
The clock is ticking, with only three hearings left in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial. However, the president's fate remains uncertain as questions surrounding the declaration and enforcement of martial law continue to deepen.
 
Former military command chiefs and the then-first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) testified as witnesses in the fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, with Yoon in attendance. So far, four witnesses have given testimony, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
 

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While former military commanders declined to confirm whether Yoon had ordered the arrest of lawmakers, Hong Jang-won, former NIS first deputy director, testified that the president ordered him to detain key politicians. Yoon, appearing for his impeachment hearing for the third time on Tuesday, denied the allegation, saying that he never communicated with Hong regarding martial law.
 
With key witnesses, attorneys and Yoon himself providing conflicting accounts, the Korea JoongAng Daily examines some major allegations surrounding the Dec. 3 martial law imposition.
 
Q. Did Yoon call Hong Jang-won on Dec. 3 and order the arrest of politicians?
 
A. Yoon admitted to calling Hong on Dec. 3 but denied giving any orders related to martial law. He argued that the NIS lacks investigative authority, making it "nonsense" to request such action. 
 
Yoon said he made a call via a "secret phone" to Hong "for the sake of encouragement."  He said he made the first call to Hong at around 8 p.m., assuming NIS chief Cho Tae-yong was out of the country. Hong returned the call at 8:22 p.m., when Yoon told him to stay available for another possible call.
 
At 10:53 p.m., Yoon called Hong again. Hong testified that during this call, the president ordered him to "arrest them all" and to assist the Defense Counterintelligence Command, promising to grant the spy agency expanded authority for anti-communist investigations.
 
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]

 
Yoon refuted the claim, insisting his calls to Hong were unrelated to martial law and that he would only give directives to an institution’s head, not a deputy.
 
Call records submitted by the National Assembly’s legal team show that after Yoon’s 10:53 p.m. call, Hong contacted former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung twice. Hong testified that Yeo requested tracking the locations of 14 to 16 individuals.
 
Yoon’s attorneys disputed this, saying the president instructed Hong to "round up spies," questioning whether Hong misinterpreted the directive. Hong said that Yoon never mentioned spies during their call.
 
“A Cabinet meeting on martial law was taking place, and the Capital Defense Command and the Special Warfare Command were in chaos,” Hong told reporters after Tuesday’s hearing. “Would the president call the first deputy director just for encouragement — at that moment?”
 
Did Yeo request location data for individuals allegedly targeted for arrest?
 
Yeo, the former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief, said he did not explicitly recall the calls from Hong, as he answered them while in an elevator. However, he argued that the claim does not make sense, given that his military units were not dispatched until 1 a.m. on Dec. 4.
 
Records show Hong called Yeo at 10:58 p.m. and 11:06 p.m. on Dec. 3. Hong testified that Yeo sought assistance because military personnel assigned to an arrest mission could not track individuals’ locations.
 
Presidential Security Service deputy chief Kim Seong-hoon speaks to reporters as he appears for police questioning at the National Office of Investigation in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Jan. 24. [NEWS1]

Presidential Security Service deputy chief Kim Seong-hoon speaks to reporters as he appears for police questioning at the National Office of Investigation in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Jan. 24. [NEWS1]

 
Can the alleged phone conversations be verified?
 
The calls in question were made using secret phones equipped with programs that prevent wiretapping and recording. Investigators would need to access the Presidential Security Service (PSS) servers to confirm their contents.
 
However, authorities have been unable to seize the servers, as the PSS has refused to comply with a raid, saying the place cannot be searched without approval under the Criminal Procedure Act. The law states that "seizure and search shall not be executed in a place where secret military matters might be endangered without permission of the person in charge." On Tuesday, police again failed to conduct a raid after an eight-hour standoff.
 
Did Yoon order lawmakers to be "dragged out" of the National Assembly compound?
 
Yoon addressed the court directly on Tuesday, denying any attempt to prevent lawmakers from lifting martial law.
 
“Nothing actually happened,” he said, dismissing the allegations as baseless. “I cannot speak on behalf of those who are testifying from memory, but common sense should reveal the reality of the situation.”
 
Former Defense Capital Command chief Lee Jin-woo and former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo both refused to comment on claims that Yoon ordered lawmakers to be forcibly removed from the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul.
 
Lee said he recalled "some shocking terms" from his phone conversation with Yoon but declined to elaborate, saying he would testify in his criminal trial. Both Lee and Yeo were indicted and detained on Dec. 31 for their alleged involvement in imposing martial law.
 
Yeo also refused to comment but admitted that he had requested the locations of specific individuals in a phone call with National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho on Dec. 3.
 
“I remember making two requests,” Yeo testified. “First, for police personnel to form a joint investigation headquarters as required by law, and second, to locate specific individuals on a particular list.”
 
Footage from the surveillance cameras at the National Election Commission's headquarters shows soldiers taking photos of the commission's data servers on Dec. 3. [NATIONAL ASSEMBLY]

Footage from the surveillance cameras at the National Election Commission's headquarters shows soldiers taking photos of the commission's data servers on Dec. 3. [NATIONAL ASSEMBLY]



Did military commanders conspire with Yoon to impose martial law?
 
Lee denied accusations of subverting the Constitution, saying he interpreted his orders as operational instructions when the former defense minister directed him to go to the National Assembly.
 
“There was no reason to believe the declaration was unlawful or unconstitutional,” Lee said, noting that it had been announced by the president, the commander in chief and a former prosecutor general familiar with the law.
 
He added that he was only instructed to be on standby in case of an emergency and first learned of the martial law declaration through a television broadcast.
 
Regarding a note on his phone labeled "Dec. 2 preparation plan," which included "possession of crowbars, hammers and saws" and "issuance of blank ammunition to individuals," Lee claimed it was a memo detailing military procedures under emergencies written upon the then-defense minister's inquiry. He said he sent the memo to the defense minister via Telegram.
 
Yeo also denied involvement, stating during a court martial hearing that he had no time to assess the legality of martial law. He insisted the military did not conduct any arrests and was merely dispatched to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission (NEC) per orders.
 
However, military prosecutors believe he had enough time to assess the legality and accused Yeo of being aware of the martial law plot before it was declared, as well as ordering the arrest of lawmakers at the National Assembly.
 
Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min attends a parliamentary special committee hearing at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 4, as part of the investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection charges. [NEWS1]

Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min attends a parliamentary special committee hearing at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 4, as part of the investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection charges. [NEWS1]

 
Did Yoon order the deployment of troops to the NEC?
 
During Tuesday’s hearing, Yoon admitted to instructing the defense minister to send troops to the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi.
 
“I wanted to assess the system, as I had heard of false ballots during legal trials on election fraud and faulty election equipment found during an NIS inspection,” he said.
 
However, he denied ordering the confiscation of NEC servers.
 
“While soldiers might have perceived the order as seizing servers, no hardware, software or data was actually taken,” he said.
 
On Dec. 3, about 300 military personnel were deployed to the NEC headquarters and its Suwon training facility for over three hours, with police on standby. Former Defense Minister Kim testified that the deployment was intended to evaluate election fraud allegations.
 
Prosecutors accuse Yoon of attempting to seize NEC servers and arrest its employees.
 

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Did Yoon order utilities to be cut to media outlets?
 
Yoon’s legal team denied claims that he ordered electricity and water to be cut at left-leaning news organizations. This comes despite the National Fire Commissioner Heo Seok-gon's testimony during parliamentary questioning that former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min asked him for cooperation with a police request to cut off power and water at several liberal media outlets. 
 
An indictment submitted to the National Assembly on Monday also alleged that Yoon instructed former Interior Minister Lee to turn off utilities at JTBC, MBC, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankyoreh and polling agency Flower Research through the National Fire Agency.
 
After Tuesday’s hearing, Yoon’s attorney, Yun Gap-geun, dismissed the claim, saying, “There is no such document as far as I know, and no reason for the president to give such an order.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]
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