National Assembly Defense Committee Summons 40 Military Commanders Related to Martial Law Troops

Kim Taeyeon, 2nd Corps Operations Director, Absent Due to Leave
Key Figures in Official Residence Meeting Expected to Face Intense Questions

As the National Assembly's National Defense Committee plans to hold a full meeting on the 10th, there is keen interest in how many military personnel related to the emergency martial law will attend. Currently, around 40 people, including commanders who led the martial law troops, are expected to attend, but some are anticipated to be absent.

Yonhap News

On the 9th, the National Defense Committee held a full meeting to finalize this schedule. Originally, the committee planned to conduct urgent inquiries on current issues at the request of opposition parties such as the Democratic Party, but the ruling and opposition parties agreed to notify military personnel involved in the martial law to attend, postponing the urgent inquiry schedule by one day.

The military commanders expected to attend the National Defense Committee regarding martial law include 16 personnel from the Defense Counterintelligence Command led by Chief of Staff Lee Kyung-min (Army Brigadier General), 9 from the Army including Army Chief of Staff Park An-soo, 6 from the Joint Chiefs of Staff including Deputy Chief of Staff Jung Jin-pal (Army Lieutenant General), 7 from the Ministry of National Defense including Vice Minister Kim Sun-ho, and 12 from the Ministry of National Defense's direct units including Director of the Defense Investigation Headquarters Park Heon-su. In total, about 40 people. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo (on standby), Defense Counterintelligence Command Commander Yeo In-hyung (under prosecution investigation), and 2nd Corps Operations Director Kim Tae-yeon (on leave) have notified their absence. Division Commanders Nam Jin-oh of the 21st Division, Park Jin-won of the 9th Division, and Kim Kwang-seok of the 35th Division also decided not to attend due to ongoing operations.

The questioning is expected to focus on the martial law troop commanders: Defense Counterintelligence Command Commander Yeo In-hyung (Korea Military Academy Class 48), Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun (KMA Class 47), and Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo (KMA Class 48). All attended the official residence meeting. They were promoted from Army Brigadier General to Lieutenant General in the general officer personnel changes on November 6 last year and took their current posts. This has led to criticism that these were ‘general personnel changes’ for emergency martial law. Former Minister Kim, who resigned on the 4th, blocked the attendance of these commanders when the National Defense Committee requested their attendance for an urgent inquiry on martial law, saying, "Only Park and I need to go." He himself did not attend as his resignation was accepted before the full meeting.

Besides the official residence meeting, questioning is also expected for Special Warfare Command’s 1st Airborne Brigade Commander Lee Sang-hyun (KMA Class 50, Brigadier General), 3rd Airborne Brigade Commander Kim Jeong-geun (KMA Class 52, Brigadier General), and 707 Special Mission Unit Commander Kim Hyun-tae (KMA Class 57, Colonel). This urgent inquiry will cover the background of martial law discussions revealed through media reports after the emergency martial law incident, the deployment process of troops to the National Assembly and the Central Election Commission, and whether there were plans to arrest key politicians.

During the martial law, Kim Hyun-tae, commander of the 707 Special Mission Unit under the Army Special Warfare Command, which was deployed to the National Assembly, held a press conference revealing his face and name. Kim said, "Calls came every 1 to 2 minutes from (Special Warfare Command Commander) Kwak Jong-geun, with the nuance of ‘The number of lawmakers inside the Assembly should not exceed 150. Can you get them out?’"

Yeo In-hyung, commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command and a key figure in the ‘December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident,’ stated on the 9th, "It is absolutely not true that the Counterintelligence Command pre-planned and prepared the martial law." In a statement distributed to reporters covering the Ministry of National Defense, Commander Yeo said, "The unit’s deployment was after 1 a.m., and they went near the National Assembly and the Election Commission but then returned. This proves that the Counterintelligence Command was not aware of the martial law in advance."

Lee Sang-hyun, commander of the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade of the Army Special Warfare Command, revealed that he received orders from superiors to forcibly remove lawmakers who were trying to pass a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law. It has not been disclosed whether the order came from President Yoon Seok-yeol or former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun. This testimony contradicts the government and ruling party’s explanation that there were no orders or military movements to block the National Assembly’s resolution to lift martial law. Lee was the highest-ranking field commander who received orders to seize the National Assembly during the December 3 emergency martial law. The 1st Airborne Brigade is the origin of the Special Warfare Command and participated as a rebel force during the December 12, 1979 military coup.

Previously, the National Defense Committee held urgent inquiries related to the emergency martial law incident over two days on the 5th and 6th, but on the 6th, the ruling party and military officials did not attend, and the meeting proceeded only with opposition lawmakers’ procedural speeches.