Former Army commander doubles down on claim that Yoon ordered him to drag lawmakers out
Published: 06 Feb. 2025, 18:26
Updated: 06 Feb. 2025, 19:20
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the sixth hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 6. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/06/b828fb78-2908-4042-b4e5-34061e11b681.jpg)
President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the sixth hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 6. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Military commanders involved in executing President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law decree gave clashing testimonies about whether they were ordered to remove lawmakers from the National Assembly on Dec. 3 at the sixth hearing of his impeachment trial on Thursday.
Former Army Special Warfare Command chief Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun said he interpreted Yoon’s order “to drag people out from the legislature as referring to lawmakers because there were no agents inside the building at the time.”
Kwak’s testimony at the Constitutional Court regarding the phone call he received from Yoon on the night of Dec. 3 largely aligns with his previous statement to the National Assembly in December, when he told lawmakers that Yoon wanted to use force to prevent them from overturning his decree.
However, his testimony contradicted that of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who claimed at the fourth hearing of the impeachment trial that he, not Yoon, ordered Kwak to withdraw troops from the legislature.
![Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, former chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, speaks at the sixth hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 6. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/06/9621a265-6d8f-4075-9d41-ebf478956caf.jpg)
Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, former chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, speaks at the sixth hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 6. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]
The National Assembly’s impeachment investigation committee, which is acting as the prosecution in the trial, has accused Yoon of trying to “pass off responsibility” for the events of Dec. 3 and 4 to his subordinates.
Col. Kim Hyun-tae, who heads the Special Warfare Command’s 707th Special Mission Group, testified earlier Thursday that Kwak called him after the unit’s troops had entered the legislature and asked if they could go deeper into the building “so that there aren’t more than 150 people.”
Kim said he only realized later that 150 referred to the quorum of lawmakers required to hold a vote.
The colonel noted that Kwak “sounded like he had been ordered by someone else” to prevent lawmakers from gathering. He also said Kwak asked if the building’s electricity could be cut.
But Kim said he could not recall receiving an order to “drag out” lawmakers, noting that “such an order could not have been carried out even if it had been issued.”
Kim’s testimony appeared to contradict his previous remarks at a Dec. 9 press conference, when he said he was ordered to remove lawmakers from the main chamber of the National Assembly.
![Col. Kim Hyun-tae, head of the Army Special Warfare Command's 707th Special Mission Group, speaks at the sixth hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 6. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/06/ffdbe645-05cb-4e23-aea1-63f5391cfbb1.jpg)
Col. Kim Hyun-tae, head of the Army Special Warfare Command's 707th Special Mission Group, speaks at the sixth hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 6. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]
“Many members of our unit felt a strong sense of shame and asked themselves, ‘What am I doing here?’ and ‘Why am I acting this way against our own people?’” he said.
Kim told the court that some of the soldiers “apologized to people [gathered at the legislature] as they withdrew” and denied any of them pointed guns at civilians or intended to use force.
He testified that his subordinates carried boxes of live ammunition for rifles and pistols on the helicopter that transported them to the National Assembly, but that most of it was left outside the legislature due to the civilians who had gathered to block their entry into the building.
Though no live rounds were fired, Kim acknowledged that the presence of ammunition meant the use of firearms was possible that night in response to a question from a lawyer on the National Assembly impeachment committee.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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