Yoon "Arrest Chief Cho, Member of National Assembly"... Military Police Unit Deployed with Armed Troops

During the 12·3 Emergency Martial Law, Yoon Ordered Jo
"All Lawmakers Are Violating the Proclamation... Arrest Them"
Military Police Entered the National Assembly Armed with Rifles and Pistols

During the 12·3 Emergency Martial Law incident, President Yoon Seok-yeol is reported to have directly ordered Police Chief Jo Ji-ho to "arrest members of the National Assembly" by calling him six times.

According to the indictments of Chief Jo and former Seoul Police Chief Kim Bong-sik, obtained by Kim Yong-min, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker (re-elected, Namyangju-si B, Gyeonggi), President Yoon called Chief Jo six times from around 11:30 PM on the 3rd of last month until about 1:03 AM on the 4th. This period covers the time from when Martial Law Command's Proclamation No. 1 was issued to when the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law.

Police Chief Jo Ji-ho, who is accused of rebellion related to the December 3 emergency martial law incident, appeared on the 13th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to undergo a pre-arrest detention hearing. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

Chief Jo and former Chief Kim were arrested and indicted on the 8th on charges of engaging in important duties related to rebellion and abuse of authority. In the calls with Chief Jo, President Yoon said, "Chief Jo, arrest all the members of the National Assembly trying to enter the National Assembly. Detain them. It's illegal. All the members of the National Assembly are violating the proclamation. Arrest them." This conversation was recorded in the indictment.

According to the indictment, the Capital Defense Command (SuBangSa) deployed the Military Police Unit to enter the National Assembly during the 12·3 Emergency Martial Law incident.

The Military Police Unit, after receiving orders from SuBangSa through the chain of command, departed from SuBangSa to the National Assembly around 11:30 PM on the 3rd of last month with 12 members of the initial counter-terrorism response unit and 2 members of the mobile company. They were equipped with ▲9 rifles ▲9 pistols ▲1 sniper rifle ▲10 taser guns and carried 525 rounds of 5.56mm standard ammunition, 363 rounds of 9mm standard ammunition, and 40 rounds of 7.62mm sniper ammunition, traveling by medium-sized buses and other vehicles.