Yoon ordered troops to 'drag out' lawmakers from Assembly, former army commander testifies at trial
Published: 26 May. 2025, 21:36
![Former President Yoon Suk Yeol heads to his car after the fifth hearing of a trial over insurrection charges in connection with his declaration of martial law finishes at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on May 26, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/26/ae9e63ee-9f43-49f7-ab2a-fe2cc27f74de.jpg)
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol heads to his car after the fifth hearing of a trial over insurrection charges in connection with his declaration of martial law finishes at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on May 26, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered soldiers to "drag out" lawmakers from the National Assembly "even if it meant tearing down the doors with an ax" on the night that he declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, according to testimony by a former army commander during Yoon's fifth hearing held Monday.
During President Yoon Suk Yeol’s sedition trial hearing Monday at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, retired Brigadier General Lee Sang-hyun, former commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade, testified that he was told by former Special Warfare Commander (SWC) Kwak Jong-keun that “former President Yoon ordered the lawmakers to be dragged out of the Assembly.”
When prosecutors asked Lee whether he understood that Yoon had instructed forces to “break down the doors with an ax if necessary,” Lee responded, “Yes.”
On Dec. 3, 2024, Lee deployed troops from the SWC to the National Assembly in western Seoul and reportedly oversaw the operation while transporting live ammunition in his command vehicle. He was indicted without detention in February on charges including participation in insurrection and abuse of power.
'Tear down the doors if you have to'
Lee testified that he understood the directives — such as “Go into the Assembly and drag out the lawmakers” and “Tear down the doors with an ax” — to have originated from Yoon, based on orders delivered by Kwak.
To a series of questions by prosecutors — “Did you hear from Kwak that former President Yoon ordered the lawmakers to be dragged out?” “Did Kwak tell you to break down the doors to enter the Assembly?” and “Did you understand that the order to break the doors came from former President Yoon?” — Lee answered, “That’s how I understood it.”
![Retired Brigadier General Lee Sang-hyun, former commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade, takes part in a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Feb. 21. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/26/a17f0d1a-4f30-4a01-b056-43a5a0d005e4.jpg)
Retired Brigadier General Lee Sang-hyun, former commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade, takes part in a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Feb. 21. [NEWS1]
The prosecution also submitted as evidence an audio recording taken on Dec. 4 at 12:49 a.m., shortly after martial law was declared on Dec. 3 night, where Lee ordered a subordinate battalion commander to “go into the Assembly, break down the doors and drag out the lawmakers so they can’t vote.”
Lee testified that while he passed along Kwak’s orders to drag out lawmakers, he was unsure whether the part about blocking a vote was clearly stated.
Prosecutors also presented a transcript of a call Lee made around 1 a.m. on Dec. 4 with Lt. Col. Kim Hyung-ki, commander of the Special Warfare Command's 1st Special Forces Battalion. In the call, Lee said, “The president said to break down the doors and drag them out. Can we cut the electricity?”
Lee testified, “After hanging up, I thought about what cutting electricity would mean. I started to reevaluate the situation as the president’s words came back to me.”
He added, “Citizens were crying out in the streets, saying we must protect democracy. That was when I realized this was not a normal military operation.”
![Former President Yoon Suk Yeol looks at his supporters as he appears at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on May 26, 2025, to attend the fifth hearing of a trial over insurrection charges in connection with his declaration of martial law. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/26/dbe26caf-0776-4308-bf43-633ef0deda37.jpg)
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol looks at his supporters as he appears at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on May 26, 2025, to attend the fifth hearing of a trial over insurrection charges in connection with his declaration of martial law. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
'VIP's orders' written in journal
Prosecutors also introduced a notebook written by Lee and asked about the journal's content.
When asked, "Did you write that the National Assembly doors should be torn down and lawmakers should be dispersed upon the VIP's orders?" Lee responded, “The exact wording was to break down the doors and drag out the lawmakers.” He explained that he wrote the note in the early hours of Dec. 4, wanting to record the situation before his memory faded, using phone records for reference.
Prosecutors also presented secure phone call records showing that Lee had two conversations with Kwak shortly before martial law was declared — one at 10:21 p.m. and another at 10:25 p.m. — on Dec. 3.
![Citizens and National Assembly staff fend off soldiers from trying to enter the National Assembly building on Dec. 4, 2024, a day after former president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/26/e32e12fd-72d0-4496-81ce-0a1d9f01a862.jpg)
Citizens and National Assembly staff fend off soldiers from trying to enter the National Assembly building on Dec. 4, 2024, a day after former president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. [JOONGANG ILBO]
“At 10:21 p.m., Kwak asked if the troops were ready to be deployed," Lee said. "At 10:25 p.m., he ordered two task teams to be sent to the National Assembly and the Democratic Party [DP] headquarters.”
When asked why he thought task teams were being sent to those locations specifically, Lee said, “I didn’t know. Task teams usually go to the field to find out what’s happening. I didn’t have time to think about why they were being sent only to the DP headquarters and not the People Power Party headquarters.”
Monday’s hearing was the last to take place before the June 3 presidential election. Former President Yoon attended both morning and afternoon sessions but did not respond to reporters asking whether he intended to apologize for the martial law.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY YANG SU-MIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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