Ministry of the Interior and Safety: "Lee Sang-min and Kim Yong-hyun Call, 'Come to Yongsan' Was All That Was Said"

Minister Lee had a 30-second phone call with Kim at 6 PM on the 3rd

It was revealed that Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min received a call from former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun around 6 p.m. on the 3rd, the day martial law was declared, while on a train. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety explained, "The content was solely to come into Yongsan."

On the 6th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, "Minister Lee received a call from former Minister Kim for about 30 seconds around 6 p.m. on the 3rd while on a train heading to Seoul," adding, "The content of the call was only to come into the Yongsan Presidential Office. Minister Lee learned about the martial law after arriving at the Presidential Office."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min is speaking during an urgent inquiry on the police response at the time of martial law, held on the 5th at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Minister Lee revealed during an emergency inquiry at the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee the previous day that he hurriedly boarded the KTX bound for Seoul after finishing his schedule in Ulsan around 5:40 p.m. on the 3rd. He said, "I received a message around lunchtime that there might be a schedule with the President, and I was originally supposed to fly up around 9 p.m.," adding, "I was told to 'arrange a means to go a little earlier,' so I took the KTX." When asked who contacted him, he replied, "It is difficult to disclose."

Both Minister Lee and former Minister Kim are alumni of Chung-Ang High School, the same as President Yoon, and are known as his 'closest aides.' Former Minister Kim is the person who proposed the declaration of emergency martial law to President Yoon.