Army Chief of Staff: "President to Visit JCS Command and Control Room After 1 AM on the 4th"

General Park An-su, Chief of Staff of the Army, revealed on the 5th that after the National Assembly passed the proposal to lift martial law, President Yoon Seok-yeol visited the Joint Chiefs of Staff Command and Control Room where the 'Martial Law Command Situation Room' is installed.

Park An-su, Chief of Staff of the Army who served as the martial law commander, and Kim Seon-ho, Vice Minister of National Defense, are attending an emergency briefing of the National Defense Committee held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On the same day, during an emergency inquiry at the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, General Park responded to a question from Bu Seung-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking "Did President Yoon visit the command and control room?" by saying, "I do not remember the exact time. It seems it was a little past 1 o'clock (on the morning of the 4th)."

Deputy Minister of National Defense Kim Seon-ho replied, "The President went to a separate room in the command and control room," and General Park said he entered the room together with former Minister Kim but did not remember "what the President or the Minister said."

The command and control room has a 'Martial Law Situation Room' permanently installed. This is because martial law is originally included in the inherent duties of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun stayed in the 'Joint Chiefs of Staff Combat Control Room,' a different space from the command and control room, and effectively commanded the operation of martial law troops.