Park Chandae: "Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor is Key to Revealing the Motive Behind Martial Law"

"Yoon declared martial law to prevent fatal damage to Kim Geon-hee
if Myeong Tae-gyun's 'golden phone' was revealed"

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized on the 16th the determination to pass the 'Myeong Tae-gyun Special Prosecutor Act,' stating that "the Myeong Tae-gyun special investigation is key to revealing the motive behind the emergency martial law."

At a press conference held at the National Assembly that day, Park said, "Yoon Seok-yeol knew that if Myeong Tae-gyun's 'golden phone' was made public, both he and Kim Geon-hee would suffer fatal damage," adding, "He must have concluded that the only way to prevent punishment for himself and Kim Geon-hee was to purge the opposition and maintain permanent power."

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Park pointed out, "The Myeong Tae-gyun gate was the 'trigger' for the emergency martial law," and "The arrest of Myeong Tae-gyun and the stance on revealing the golden phone were decisive factors that hastened the emergency martial law."

For this reason, Park stressed, "The Myeong Tae-gyun special investigation is central to uncovering the motive behind the emergency martial law." He criticized, "The Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the Myeong Tae-gyun gate, changed its attitude after submitting the investigation report on November 4 last year and has been avoiding further investigation," adding, "Although the report confirmed that Myeong Tae-gyun and the Yoon couple had phone calls related to nominations, there has been no follow-up investigation."

Addressing the People Power Party, which opposes the Myeong Tae-gyun Special Prosecutor Act as a 'ruling party oppression law,' Park sharply stated, "It is unacceptable to try to cover up the truth that emergency martial law was declared because of the Myeong Tae-gyun gate."

The Democratic Party plans to pass the Myeong Tae-gyun Special Prosecutor Act at the plenary session on the 27th. Prior to that, on the 19th, a special inquiry related to the special prosecutor law is scheduled to be held at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. If Mr. Myeong, who has been summoned as a witness, fails to appear, a site visit to the Gyeongnam Changwon Prison where he is incarcerated is being considered.

Park raised the possibility that Kim Geon-hee was directly involved in the emergency martial law, referring to the fact that during President Yoon's impeachment trial, National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong was found to have exchanged text messages with Mrs. Kim around the time the martial law was declared.

Park said, "It is hard to imagine, as a matter of common sense, that a civilian would exchange text messages with the head of the nation's top intelligence agency," and added, "The content of those messages must be revealed."

He also pointed out, "Considering that the emergency martial law was abruptly declared on December 3 last year, the day after Myeong Tae-gyun announced his intention to reveal the golden phone, this is also circumstantial evidence that Kim Geon-hee was involved in the December 3 emergency martial law."