On the Claim That Martial Law Was to "Sound a Warning,"
"There Is Sufficient Possibility"
Shin Won-sik, Director of the National Security Office, revealed that during the 'Samcheong-dong An-ga meeting' in Seoul last year, he strongly discouraged President Yoon Suk-yeol's mention of 'emergency measures' and the day of the emergency martial law declaration, saying it was "inappropriate" and "absolutely unacceptable."
On the afternoon of the 11th, Shin, who attended as a witness at the 7th hearing of President Yoon's impeachment trial, stated that at a dinner meeting in Samcheong-dong from late March to early April last year before the general election, President Yoon said, "It has become difficult to return to a normal political situation. Extraordinary measures are necessary." This indicates acceptance of the suspicion that President Yoon had premeditated the emergency martial law.
Shin said, "I did not think the extraordinary measures meant martial law, and I understood it as just a passing remark among various comments," but added, "I said it was inappropriate and not a good solution to resolve difficulties." According to Shin, those who attended the Samcheong-dong An-ga meeting arranged by President Yoon included Shin himself, Kim Yong-hyun, then Chief of the Presidential Security Service (former Minister of National Defense), Yeo In-hyung, former Commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Intelligence Service.
Shin also revealed that just before the emergency martial law declaration on December 3 last year, he and Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok tried to dissuade President Yoon. He explained, "I met President Yoon and said something to the effect of 'What emergency martial law?'" and added, "Because I heard about the martial law declaration only 1-2 minutes before, I instinctively thought the declaration was not an appropriate choice."
However, when asked about the possibility of a 'second martial law' and 'refusal to lift martial law,' Shin responded directly, "I was not concerned at all." He claimed, "When I said 'Let's lift it,' the President immediately approved," and asserted, "I am confident that the President did not consider a second martial law."
When the National Assembly side asked, "President Yoon argued that the martial law was to sound a warning against the rampage of the major opposition party. Do you think this is possible?" Shin replied, "I could not judge at the time, but considering the extremely short duration of the martial law and the President's various remarks, I judge that it is quite likely." However, when asked, "Do you agree with President Yoon's use of martial law and military deployment as a solution to the national crisis?" he drew a line, saying, "Since it is my subjective judgment, I will not comment."
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