Former Defense Security Command Chief Jinwoo Lee's Emergency Martial Law Preparedness Plan from the 2nd
Notes on Mobile Phone, Prosecution Indicts as "Key Participant in Rebellion"
The prosecution investigating the ‘12·3 Emergency Martial Law’ incident announced reference materials when indicting former Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo. These materials contained detailed preparations by the military leadership during the martial law period. Former Commander Lee, who was responsible for blocking the National Assembly and obstructing the resolution to lift martial law, was found to have noted on his cellphone items such as ‘metal lever and hammer,’ ‘carrying a saw,’ ‘wearing black clothing and face masks,’ and ‘orders to shut down the internet network.’ On the day martial law was declared, President Yoon reportedly called Lee several times, instructing him to forcibly remove the lawmakers.
The Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law (headed by Seoul High Prosecutor Park Se-hyun) indicted former Commander Lee on the 31st on charges of engaging in important duties related to rebellion and abuse of authority, explicitly stating these facts in the indictment.
According to the prosecution’s investigation, Lee’s cellphone memo from December 2 contained a martial law preparation plan titled ‘Concept for the Implementation of the National Assembly Action.’ The records, broadly categorized into ‘Before the first V-nim’s public address broadcast’ and ‘Immediately after the ministers’ meeting,’ included step-by-step measures. Regarding the public address, it was noted to ‘collect all personal cellphones from all units and order the shutdown of the internal cyber and internet networks.’ There were also memos for the deployed troops such as ‘wear black clothing and face masks,’ ‘attach color Taegeukgi flags,’ ‘carry metal levers and hammers,’ ‘carry saws,’ and ‘issue personal blank cartridges.’ Instructions to close guard posts and block contact attempts by external media were also recorded.
Immediately after the ministers’ meeting, records included ‘pre-deployment of anti-terror standby units and placement in the main building,’ ‘conducting coordinated calls with the Mayor of Seoul and the Police Chief,’ and ‘mid-operation reports.’ According to the prosecution, Lee personally reported these memo items to former Minister Kim Yong-hyun on the 2nd.
The reported plans were executed. Armed 136 personnel from the 1st Security Group and 76 from the Military Police Group were ordered to deploy to the National Assembly. Lee also made multiple calls to Seoul Police Chief Kim Bong-sik and others to seek police cooperation. Following the president’s repeated orders to ‘pull out the lawmakers,’ Lee sequentially called the commanders of the 2nd Special Mission Battalion and the 35th Special Mission Battalion under the 1st Security Group. He instructed them to ‘enter the main building of the National Assembly and pull the lawmakers outside’ and ‘the Special Forces have entered the main building, so provide support from outside.’ After reporting, Lee was also found to have searched on his cellphone for terms like ‘Is it possible for the president to dissolve the National Assembly?’ and ‘tools used to open or break doors,’ according to the investigation results.
Accordingly, the prosecution indicted former Commander Lee along with former Director of the Defense Counterintelligence Command Yeo In-hyung on charges of engaging in important duties related to rebellion and abuse of authority at the Central Military Court on the same day.
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