Telegram Account Newly Registered on the Morning of the 7th
Former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who led the 12·3 emergency martial law incident, was found to have withdrawn from his Telegram account and then rejoined. There are suspicions that this may have been an attempt to erase related evidence.
Kim Yong-hyun's Telegram account shows that he newly registered on the morning of the 7th. The existing chat room where he was present now displays the other participants' names as disappeared and is labeled as 'Withdrawn Account.' It is understood that Kim's phone contact information remains unchanged.
Kim Yong-hyun, Minister of National Defense, is reporting on duties at the National Assembly inspection held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
With the Telegram re-registration, it appears highly likely that the chat contents remaining in Kim's previous account have been deleted. Some speculate that this might be an attempt to erase evidence, as the previous account's chat rooms could contain circumstances related to the plotting of martial law.
On the afternoon of the 4th, when the martial law was lifted, Kim expressed his intention to resign, stating, "All responsibility lies with me." However, even afterward, he sent messages via text and Telegram to the media, asserting the justification of the martial law with phrases such as "the difficult path of justice rather than the complacent path of injustice."
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