Martial law commander unaware of situation until Yoon's public announcement

Former defense minister was mastermind behind martial law imposition

By Anna J. Park

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who briefly assumed the role of martial law commander, said Thursday that he learned of the martial law declaration through President Yoon Seok Yeol's public announcement on Tuesday night.

During an emergency parliamentary defense committee inquiry on Thursday, Park and acting Minister of National Defense Kim Seon-ho, who was a vice defense minister until early Thursday, said that the order to deploy troops to the National Assembly and the order for their withdrawal came from former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun.

"I did not know about the deployment of troops. I did not give the order," Park said, adding that he was informed of his appointment as martial law commander during a meeting chaired by Kim Yong-hyun, after Yoon's declaration of martial law.

The acting defense minister also said he became aware of the martial law declaration from media reports.

While these military officials declined to have been involved with the martial law schemes from the start, the former defense minister is reported to have remained in the underground control room of the Ministry of National Defense headquarters, issuing detailed instructions for the martial law operation from the moment Yoon declared the nationwide martial law until it was lifted.

Kim Yong-hyun, who is said to have directly recommended the declaration of martial law to Yoon, did not attend the session. His resignation, submitted on Wednesday evening, was accepted by the presidential office on Thursday morning.

Although it is unclear whether the former defense chief personally drafted the martial law proclamation decree, Army Chief of Staff Park explained that the former defense minister provided the decree to him.

Despite Park's suggestion that the decree might need further legal review to determine whether there were any unlawful articles, Park said Kim Yong-hyun insisted that "the matter has already been legally reviewed" as he pressed for the immediate announcement.

The issued decree included a provision in its first article that "all political activities, including the activities of the National Assembly, political parties, political gatherings and protests are prohibited."

This has raised concerns that such a measure, which restricts the National Assembly's ability to demand the lifting of martial law, is unconstitutional, as it goes beyond both the Constitution and the Martial Law Act.

Yoon's visit to control room

Park also revealed during the parliamentary session that Yoon briefly visited the control center of the martial law command post, set up inside the Joint Chiefs of Staff's command, after the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law.

"I don't remember the exact time, but I think it was a little after 1 a.m. on Wednesday," Park said.

The Assembly passed the resolution calling for the lifting of martial law just after 1 a.m.

Kim, the acting defense minister, who was in the command post when the martial law was in effect, also said the president went to the control center, but added that he did not enter the room himself.

The president's visit was intended to encourage those involved.

As the former minister is pointed as the key figure behind the martial law debacle, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), along with other opposition parties, have urged investigative authorities to impose a travel ban on the former minister. Rep. Kim Min-seok of the DPK, who had consistently warned that Yoon and Kim Yong-hyun had been conspiring to declare martial law, said Kim is likely attempting to flee abroad.

Upon such requests, the prosecution issued the travel ban on the former minister through the Ministry of Justice on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who attended another parliamentary inquiry session at the National Assembly on Thursday, said that all Cabinet members called upon right before the martial law announcement expressed concerns over the president's plan to declare martial law.

"All Cabinet members present expressed concern, and I also voiced my concerns multiple times," Lee said. "I recall that two or three ministers used the term 'opposition' to the martial law declaration. Many expressed concerns over the potential impact on the economy and foreign relations."

Yet, Lee said that he thinks the declaration of the martial law was an exercise of presidential authority.

"This is a matter of executive action, and I believe it is not appropriate to subject it to judicial review. I believe the president can also say that he declared martial law within the scope of the powers granted to him by the Constitution," Lee said.

Following Yoon's sudden announcement on Tuesday evening, the martial law remained in effect for six hours before being revoked by the National Assembly and approved during a Cabinet meeting early Wednesday.