"Phone Calls Presumed from Martial Law Command Attempted 7 Times to Ministry of Health and Welfare"
On the 12th, citizens attending the candlelight march urging the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol in front of the People Power Party office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, condemned the People Power Party members who abstained from voting on the impeachment motion against President Yoon. Photo by Yonhap News
After the martial law command issued a proclamation on the 3rd containing provisions such as the 'punishment of resident doctors,' allegations have arisen that they attempted to contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare by phone seven times.
According to the office of Seo Mi-hwa, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a call presumed to be from the martial law command was made to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the night of the 3rd, after the declaration of emergency martial law.
At that time, the martial law command included a clause in the proclamation stating that "all medical personnel, including resident doctors who are on strike or have left the medical field, must return to their duties within 48 hours and work diligently; violations will be punished under the Martial Law Act."
There are suspicions that the multiple calls made by the martial law command to the Ministry of Health and Welfare after the proclamation are related to this clause.
A representative from Seo’s office said, "An investigation is needed into why the entity presumed to be the martial law command called the Ministry of Health and Welfare."
The Ministry of Health and Welfare confirmed that it is true that seven calls were received between 1:06 a.m. and 3:24 a.m. on the 4th, but stated that no actual conversations took place.
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