'Martial Law Notebook' Secured at Ansan Fortune-Telling House... Police Question Former Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won

Inquiry into the Specific Meanings of Phrases Presumed to Be Related to Martial Law Plans

The police special investigation unit is reportedly questioning former Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won about the contents of a 'notebook' he wrote. Attention is focused on whether the notebook, which contains suspicious circumstances surrounding former Commander Noh, will serve as a smoking gun (decisive evidence).

Noh Sang-won, former Commander of the Defense Security Command. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the police on the 22nd, the special unit summoned former Commander Noh and is probing the specific meanings of phrases presumed to be military unit deployment plans written in the notebook secured from his 'fortune-telling house' in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

The notebook is said to contain target locations for military units such as the National Assembly and the Central Election Commission after the declaration of martial law.

Along with this, the police are also investigating the whereabouts of the mobile phone used by former Commander Noh before the martial law and whether there were any other meetings to plan the martial law besides the 'Lotteria meeting' held two days before and on the day of the martial law.

Since former Commander Noh’s transfer to prosecution is scheduled for the 24th, the police plan to continue summoning and investigating him until the 23rd.

The police also summoned former Colonel Kim (detained), who met with former Commander Noh at Lotteria on the same day, to question him about the deployment of the North Korean infiltration unit (HID) under the Intelligence Command and whether there was an actual plan to arrest Supreme Court Justice Noh Tae-ak, the chairman of the election commission.

Meanwhile, the police conducted a private investigation of Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho for about six hours from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday the 21st. Minister Kim was one of the 12 cabinet members and attendees present at the cabinet meeting held five minutes before the declaration of martial law.

The police reportedly asked whether Minister Kim had prior knowledge of the martial law declaration plan and what was discussed at the cabinet meeting. Minister Kim did not attend the cabinet meeting where the lifting of martial law was discussed.

So far, the police have investigated 10 cabinet meeting attendees, excluding President Yoon Seok-yeol and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun.