Kim Tae-hyo: "Claiming Martial Law Declaration Inevitable to US Ambassador? ... Clear Falsehood"

"Immediately after the declaration, said 'Let's watch and see' in a call"
"Did not call the US ambassador the next morning"
Opposition's suspicions called "Fake news, alliance disruption"

Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim Tae-hyo, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, denied the Democratic Party of Korea's allegation that he told Philip Goldberg, the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, immediately after the lifting of the emergency martial law on December 3 that "the declaration of martial law was inevitable," calling it "fake news" and "an act of undermining the ROK-U.S. alliance."

The Presidential Office issued a statement to the press on the afternoon of the 7th, saying, "Kim Tae-hyo has informed us as follows," and added, "Kim did not have a phone call with Ambassador Goldberg the morning after the martial law declaration. (The opposition party's claim) is a clear falsehood."

Earlier, Jeong Dong-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the party's 'Special Committee on Overcoming Internal Conflict and National Stability' held at the National Assembly that day and claimed that Kim told Ambassador Goldberg during a call on the morning of December 4, the day after the martial law declaration, that "martial law was inevitable to eradicate anti-state forces who destroyed South Korea's judicial and administrative system through legislative dictatorship," which shocked Ambassador Goldberg.

Jeong said he heard this from Ambassador Goldberg, who was present as the preparatory chairman of the Korea-U.S. Parliamentary Alliance at the meeting where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik the day before.

In response, the Presidential Office stated in a notice reflecting Kim's position, "Kim received a call late at night from Ambassador Goldberg shortly after the martial law was declared on December 3," and explained, "During this call, Kim said he had no knowledge of any related matters beyond the president's broadcasted statement delivered in his own voice, and suggested continuing intergovernmental communication while monitoring the situation."

They also said, "The content mentioned by Representative Jeong Dong-young is a fabricated claim."

They continued, "For a while, the opposition misled the truth by falsely claiming that Kim did not answer Ambassador Goldberg's calls, and now that this has been proven false, they continue to spread baseless fake news by alleging that Kim said things he never did," emphasizing, "Such fake news is an act of undermining the ROK-U.S. alliance and must be stopped immediately. We strongly express our regret."