Yoon's Statement... Han Deok-su: "All Citizens Must Follow the Constitution and Laws"

Prime Minister Han Apologizes for Failing to Prevent Martial Law
"Procedural Flaws... I Believe the Martial Law Was Wrong"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, whose duties were suspended due to impeachment, appeared as a witness on the 15th before the National Assembly's Special Committee on the "State Investigation into the Alleged Insurrection Charges through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration," responding to questions from committee members. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated on the 15th regarding the video message released when President Yoon Seok-yeol was arrested, "I believe that all citizens must abide by the Constitution and the law."

On the same day, Prime Minister Han appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's special committee investigating the truth behind the charge of rebellion through the declaration of martial law by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, responding to questions from Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

When asked about President Yoon's position that the arrest warrant was "illegal," Prime Minister Han said, "The President has also stated that he will take legal and political responsibility for his decisions."

Earlier, in the video message, President Yoon said, "Unfortunately, the law in this country has completely collapsed," and added, "As the President who must protect the Constitution and legal system of the Republic of Korea, complying with such illegal and invalid procedures is not an acknowledgment of them but a measure to prevent an unfortunate bloodshed."

Prime Minister Han expressed his opinion that the declaration of martial law by President Yoon on that day was improper as it did not go through the Cabinet meeting deliberation.

In response to a question from Min Hong-chul, a Democratic Party member, asking, "Was the martial law declared without Cabinet meeting deliberation?" Han replied, "I believe so."

He also said that around 8:40 p.m. on the same day, after hearing about the plan to declare martial law from President Yoon, he suggested convening the Cabinet members.

Prime Minister Han explained, "I believed that if the Cabinet members gathered, surely all of them would oppose the martial law issue," and added, "I proposed that the President should listen to the opinions of the Cabinet members because there would be significant problems regarding the economy and external credibility."

However, he expressed regret that ultimately the declaration of martial law could not be prevented, saying, "I always feel deeply sorry that all those involved, including myself, could not sufficiently stop this situation. I sincerely apologize to the people."

In particular, Prime Minister Han explained, "Considering various procedural and substantive flaws, I believe the martial law was not legitimate," and stated, "I think the martial law was wrong."