"Assigned the mission to secure '6 places including the National Assembly' in one day... Martial law-related personnel coordinated their statements"
Army Special Warfare Command Commander Gwak Jong-geun revealed that he received an order from President Yoon Seok-yeol to "drag the lawmakers out."
Commander Gwak appeared before the National Assembly's National Defense Committee on the 10th and said, "The president called me directly on a secure phone," adding, "It seems the quorum for the vote has not yet been met, so he ordered me to break down the door quickly and drag out the people inside." He said, "After hearing that order, I wondered what to do, so I discussed with the field commanders whether we should enter by firing warning shots or cut off the electricity to prevent them. The field commanders clearly told me, 'No, that is restricted.' I also judged that their stance was correct and proper."
Kim Hyun-tae, commander of the 707 Special Mission Group, who also appeared, stated, "I told the commander that pushing too far was dangerous, and the commander said, 'Understood, do not do it.'"
Commander Gwak added, "Even if we had entered to carry out the order, the troops involved would later become criminals, and forcibly breaking in would cause too many injuries, so I judged that it was not right." He continued, "Therefore, I ordered to stop any further entry from the current position. I stopped the operation and only observed the movement without further action." When asked if he reported the measures to President Yoon, Commander Gwak said, "I did not report it, but when withdrawing, I explained the current situation to the former Minister (Kim Yong-hyun) and said we were withdrawing." Commander Gwak had a phone call with President Yoon on the 6th, during which the president asked about troop positions, and he replied that they were "moving to the National Assembly."
That morning at the National Defense Committee, he revealed that there was a second call with President Yoon during lawmakers' questioning but initially said, "I am restricted from disclosing the content," before later revealing the details at the afternoon session. He said the second call was "around 00:30 to 00:40 on the 4th, as far as I remember." Commander Gwak also said he was aware of the martial law details earlier than the official declaration on the 3rd, specifically on the 1st.
Regarding the instructions received on the 1st, he said, "The mission I received was to secure six locations: the National Assembly, three election commission offices, the Democratic Party headquarters, and the public opinion survey 'Kkot' (Flower)," adding, "I received the mission via a secure phone call from the former Minister of National Defense." Commander Gwak explained, "I only conceptualized in my mind, 'If this really happens, this is how it should be done,' but I did not dare tell the subordinate brigade commanders because if I did, they might face problems. I only told them on the day of deployment."
However, he clarified, "I did not consider this martial law but rather was more concerned about the possibility of problems arising from some situation at the front lines at that time." When asked whether the president used words like "guns, shooting, warning shots, armored vehicles," he said, "As far as I remember, no." Lieutenant General Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defense Command, who also appeared, said, "I don't remember" when asked the same question.
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye said, "Commander Gwak did not testify to the prosecution about the fact that he knew in advance," adding, "Because the statements of those involved in the martial law were already coordinated, he did not testify. He made a whistleblower report to me today."
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