President Park An-su and 17 Others Suspended from Duty [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

Core Command Vacuum in North Korea Contingency Preparedness

Park An-su (Army General), who served as the Martial Law Commander, has been suspended from his duties as the Chief of Staff of the Army. The light of the 17 stars symbolizing the military generals has faded. They are key commanders in the readiness posture against North Korea.

Yonhap News

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 12th, the duties of three Army Lieutenant Generals?Yeo In-hyung, Commander of the Defense Security Command; Lee Jin-woo, Commander of the Capital Defense Command; and Kwak Jong-geun, Commander of the Special Warfare Command?have been suspended. Jeong Seong-woo (Army Brigadier General selectee), Chief of the 1st Division of the Defense Security Command; Kim Dae-woo (Navy Rear Admiral), Head of the Defense Security Command Investigation Unit; and Moon Sang-ho (Army Major General), Commander of the Intelligence Command, have also been successively suspended. Additionally, Brigadier Generals Lee Sang-hyun, Commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade; Kim Jeong-geun, Commander of the 3rd Airborne Brigade; Ahn Mu-seong, Commander of the 9th Airborne Brigade?all under the Special Warfare Command and confirmed to have deployed troops?along with Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, Commander of the 707 Special Mission Group; Kim Se-woon, Commander of the Special Operations Aviation Group; and Kim Chang-hak, Commander of the Military Police under the Capital Defense Command, have been banned from leaving the country, making it difficult to consider them in a normal duty-performing state.

Military Generals Related to Martial Law Sequentially Removed from Duty

Moreover, the position of Minister of National Defense overseeing them has been temporarily filled by Deputy Minister Kim Seon-ho since the 5th. Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun was detained on charges including involvement in a major insurrection. Although retired Army General Choi Byung-hyuk, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, was nominated as Kim’s successor, the process for the parliamentary confirmation hearing is uncertain, making it difficult to predict when the follow-up appointment will take place.

Concerns are steadily rising that the readiness posture against North Korea, the military’s primary mission, may be shaken as key military officials involved in the emergency martial law are being removed from duty and investigated. Furthermore, with President Yoon Seok-yeol, the commander-in-chief, effectively unable to conduct normal state affairs, uncertainty about whose orders the military should follow in the event of an emergency is intensifying these worries.

Generals Recklessly Expose Military Secrets to Defend Themselves

On the 9th, Deputy Minister Kim Seon-ho declared, "Even the commander-in-chief will not accept orders to use force against the people as in this case," asserting that there will be no "second martial law." However, he also stated the principle that "if a serious security threat by the enemy occurs, the president’s orders must be followed."

Meanwhile, criticism has been raised over generals involved in martial law recklessly exposing military secrets to defend themselves.

All Military Secrets Including JCS Underground Facilities Exposed

On the 10th, General Park responded to lawmakers’ questions at the National Assembly’s Defense Committee about his whereabouts during martial law by drawing in the air and explaining in detail the underground facility of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) where the Martial Law Command was established. Deputy Minister Kim requested to cut off the broadcast, saying, "The Chief of Staff is discussing important combat facility concepts."

Additionally, when opposition lawmakers mentioned the real names of Intelligence Command personnel suspected of being involved in the martial law troop deployment during questioning, Lee Jin-woo, Commander of the Capital Defense Command, voluntarily requested to speak, asking for restraint by saying, "Intelligence personnel are important assets, and it would be a big problem if their names are revealed. The same applies to facilities."

Ignoring Formal Reporting Procedures, Going Public with Media

The appearance of military personnel whose identities and faces are classified, such as Kim Hyun-tae, Commander of the 707 Special Mission Group under the Special Warfare Command, in front of live broadcast cameras is also cited as a symbolic moment of the weakening readiness posture caused by this emergency martial law incident. The fortunate point is that the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which actually commands military operations, has stayed out of this martial law incident.

The JCS Chairman Kim Myung-soo and other key officials are understood to have no connection to the martial law, having been 'passed over' by former Minister Kim during the martial law. Deputy Minister Kim stated on the 6th that "troop movements are only possible with the approval of the JCS Chairman," pledging that troop movements not reported to the JCS, as occurred during the martial law incident on the 3rd, will not happen again.