Cho Tae-yong: "Hong's Memo Is False"... Undermining the Witness's Credibility
Yoon Points to Hong's "Operation" as the Origin... Requests to Resummon the Witness
Hong Immediately Rebuts: "Misleading as If There Are Four Different Versions"
The credibility of the memo by former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service Hong Jang-won, known as the so-called 'martial law arrest list,' has emerged as a key issue in the final stages of President Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment trial.
On the 13th, at the 8th hearing of President Yoon's impeachment trial held at the Constitutional Court, National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong, who appeared as a witness, stated that he "believes the memo by former Deputy Director Hong is false." Earlier, former Deputy Director Hong testified that he received instructions from President Yoon to "organize everything thoroughly this time" and to "support the Defense Counterintelligence Command," and that he wrote down the names called out by former Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung. However, Director Cho, who was Hong's direct superior, attacked the credibility of this 'Hong Jang-won memo (evidence)' while simultaneously undermining the 'trustworthiness of the witness Hong Jang-won' by stating that "Hong made personnel requests seven times in the past." President Yoon had previously pointed to contacts between former Deputy Director Hong and former Special Forces Commander Kwak Jong-geun with opposition party figures as the origin of the 'operation' during the 6th hearing held on the 6th, and Director Cho responded in agreement.
Hong Jang-won, former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, appeared as a witness and spoke at the 5th hearing of President Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment trial held on the 4th at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, provided by the Constitutional Court
Yoon "Operation" → Cho Tae-yong "Memo is False" → Yoon "Hong was Drinking"
When asked by President Yoon's side, "Do you think the country was shaken by Hong's operation?" Director Cho replied, "It is true that it had a significant impact." He added, "I believe the memo written by former Deputy Director Hong is false. I have strong doubts about the reliability of the memo and the testimony." Director Cho stated, "I checked the facts because Hong said he wrote the memo in front of the official residence, but the facts were different," and revealed, "Upon checking the CCTV, Hong was in his office at the NIS headquarters, not at the official residence, around 11:06 p.m. on December 3, when he supposedly wrote the memo."
Former Deputy Director Hong claimed that around 11:06 p.m. on the day of the martial law, he took out a memo pad in an open space in front of the NIS Director's official residence and suddenly wrote down the list called out by former Commander Yeo. However, Director Cho testified that it was confirmed Hong was at the NIS headquarters, not the official residence, at that time. This implies that Hong lied about the 'place where the memo was written.'
Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Intelligence Service, is testifying as a witness and responding during the 8th hearing of President Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment trial held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, provided by the Constitutional Court
Director Cho also testified, "Hong said he gave the memo he wrote to an aide to have it copied correctly, so there should be two versions, but upon checking with the aide, there were actually four types." He explained, "The aide delivered the copied memo to Hong, who then asked, 'Please write it again as you remember,' which became the third memo." According to Director Cho, the fourth memo, which was a revised version of the third, is the one released to the media. The aide reportedly denied having made any revisions.
Furthermore, Director Cho testified, "A certain opposition party lawmaker (Park Ji-won) who was at the NIS pointed to Hong and said, 'When I was at the NIS, didn't you make personnel requests seven times through influential people?'" In response, President Yoon also joined the attack on Hong Jang-won. President Yoon said, "On the day of the emergency martial law, I thought the NIS Director was overseas, so I called Hong Jang-won, but from the sound of his voice, it seemed he was drinking. I recognized it immediately because I also enjoy a drink."
Hong: "The President and NIS Director Are Blatant Liars"
In response, former Deputy Director Hong immediately rebutted through a media interview, saying, "The President and the NIS Director are telling blatant lies." Hong stated, "It's just that I rewrote the same list, but they are greatly misleading people as if there are four different types," and insisted, "It is an undeniable fact that I received the list from Commander Yeo while on the phone in front of the Director's official residence and wrote it down." Regarding the time the memo was written, he countered, "I am human, so there may be a slight time gap in my memory, but if you check the CCTV showing me making the call in front of the official residence, everything will match."
President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at his 8th impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Constitutional Court, Yonhap News
However, President Yoon's side appears determined to continue their offensive by reapplying to summon former Deputy Director Hong as a witness. The Constitutional Court announced that the decision on whether to accept the five witnesses, including former Deputy Director Hong and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, requested by President Yoon's side, will be made through a deliberation by the justices on the 14th. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court has additionally scheduled a hearing on the 18th for evidence examination.
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