The prosecution investigating the 12·3 emergency martial law incident has indicted General Yeo In-hyung, Commander of the Republic of Korea Army Counterintelligence Command, and General Lee Jin-woo, Commander of the Capital Defense Command.
Yeo In-hyung, former Commander of the ROK Army Counterintelligence Command, is attending the full meeting of the Intelligence Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 7th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Association
The Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law under the prosecution (Head: Park Se-hyun, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office) announced on the 31st that Generals Yeo and Lee were formally charged and detained at the Central Regional Military Court on charges of engaging in important duties related to rebellion and abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights.
General Yeo is accused of organizing and operating arrest squads to detain key figures such as Woo Won-sik, Speaker of the National Assembly, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Han Dong-hoon, then leader of the People Power Party, following the declaration of martial law on the 3rd. He is also charged with attempting to occupy the National Election Commission and remove servers, acts aimed at disturbing the constitutional order through rebellion.
According to the prosecution's investigation, General Yeo received orders from former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun to arrest and detain about ten individuals. He requested Police Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho to provide 100 security investigation personnel and to track the locations of the targets. He also requested support of 100 investigators from the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters.
Furthermore, General Yeo handed a list of arrest targets to Kim, head of the Counterintelligence Investigation Unit, instructing him to promptly arrest the individuals and transfer them to the Capital Defense Command’s B1 bunker detention facility. Kim relayed this order to the investigation team. Later, as the National Assembly’s resolution to lift the emergency martial law approached approval, General Yeo, following former Minister Kim’s directive to prevent this, ordered counterintelligence investigators to "arrest the three first: Speaker Woo, Leader Lee, and Leader Han."
General Lee, indicted alongside General Yeo, is accused of sending Capital Defense Command troops to the National Assembly upon the declaration of martial law to block the lawmakers’ resolution to lift the emergency martial law. President Yoon Suk-yeol reportedly called General Lee multiple times while he was commanding the scene near the National Assembly, instructing him to forcibly remove the lawmakers inside the plenary hall. Former Minister Kim also frequently called, asking "Why can’t you get in?" and ordered the execution of the president’s directives, according to the prosecution.
General Yeo was detained on the 14th, and General Lee was detained on the 16th.
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