"I Thought I Would Die" Kim Eo-jun Hid for 36 Hours Even After Emergency Martial Law Was Lifted

Kim Eo-jun, Interview with Foreign Media

"I thought I was going to die"

Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun revealed that he was hiding to survive when the martial law was declared by President Yoon Seok-yeol, evading the martial law troops who came to arrest him.

Kim Eo-jun. Screenshot from YouTube 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory'

According to major foreign media on the 10th (local time), he stated that after receiving a tip following the declaration of martial law, he immediately went into hiding far away, fearing for his life. He said that even after the martial law was lifted at the request of the National Assembly, he did not return immediately and remained quietly for 36 hours.

On the morning of the 4th, around 12:40 a.m., when martial law was declared, about 20 soldiers were spotted near the building housing Kim’s News Factory studio and the public opinion polling agency he runs, ‘Yeoronjoosa Kkot’. Kim said, "Two buses, one truck, one command vehicle, and several armed martial law troops arrived at the office, which was captured on CCTV cameras." He also claimed that the martial law arrest squad came to his home.

In fact, General Kwak Jong-geun, commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, revealed at the National Assembly Defense Committee held that day, "On the 1st, I received orders from former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to secure six locations including the National Assembly, three election commissions, the Democratic Party headquarters, and Yeoronjoosa Kkot." Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, also appeared before the National Assembly on the 6th and exposed that on the day martial law was declared, he was informed by Commander Ye In-hyung of the Counterintelligence Command about the arrest list including Kim, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung.

Foreign media explained that the military martial law included controlling the press, and Kim, who is left-leaning and anti-establishment, was the only journalist targeted by the arrest squad. In response to foreign media criticism that he shows a biased attitude favorable to the Democratic Party, Kim argued, "Rather, by openly stating my bias, listeners can understand me better."

He has been active in broadcasting for over 20 years but criticized President Yoon for leading the "worst regime." When asked why he thought he was targeted by martial law, he said, "It must be for personal reasons," adding, "It is only a matter of time before President Yoon is impeached."

Kim said, "I hope the martial law incident will further strengthen the resilience of democracy in South Korea," and evaluated, "The National Assembly lifting martial law within a few hours and citizens stopping the military is probably a unique case in history."

Kim Eo-jun gained great fame with the 2011 podcast 'Naneun Ggomsooda' (I Am a Weasel), then hosted TBS FM's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' from 2016 until stepping down in December 2022. Since then, he has continued broadcasting on YouTube through the channel 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility Is Hard News Factory,' which has 1.8 million subscribers.