Woo Won-sik "Emergency Martial Law Incident National Investigation... Abnormal Situation in Republic of Korea"

Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik announced on the 11th that he will invoke the National Assembly's investigative authority regarding the December 3 emergency martial law incident.

Speaker Woo held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly that morning and said, "President Yoon Seok-yeol tried to forcibly prevent the National Assembly's resolution to lift the martial law by making it impossible for the Assembly to exercise its powers. The situation is grave," adding, "We will conduct a national investigation into the December 3 emergency martial law incident."

Speaker Woo emphasized, "We must thoroughly uncover who gave what orders for what purpose and under what circumstances this happened," and stated, "We will ensure that the National Assembly, the hall of the people's will, is never again violated and that its functions are not paralyzed."

He continued, "There was testimony in the National Assembly from a martial law suspect that orders were given for the arrest and detention of lawmakers, verification of quorum for resolutions, and forced entry and removal from the plenary hall," adding, "As the party involved, it is only right that the National Assembly itself conducts an investigation using its authority regarding the violation of the Assembly."

Before the press conference, Speaker Woo expressed concern, saying, "There was very serious testimony in the National Assembly yesterday," and explained, "(The testimony) stated that President Yoon tried to forcibly prevent the National Assembly from exercising its powers to lift the martial law resolution. The Republic of Korea is currently in an abnormal situation."

Earlier, former Special Forces Commander Kwak Jong-geun testified at the full meeting of the National Defense Committee in the National Assembly the previous day that during the December 3 emergency martial law incident, President Yoon called and ordered, "Break down the door and drag out the people inside the National Assembly."

Woo Won-sik, Speaker of the National Assembly, is holding a press conference on the current political situation at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min