Gwack Jong-geun's Subordinates Say "Heard the President Ordered to Drag Out Lawmakers"

Lee Sanghyun, Commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade, Testifies in the National Assembly
"President Ordered to Break Down the Door and Drag Out Lawmakers"
Subordinates and Counterintelligence Officers Confirm the Instruction
Concerns Raised Over Political Implications of the Order

At the plenary meeting of the "Special Committee for the National Investigation on the Alleged Insurrection Charges through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Administration" held at the National Assembly on the 21st, Chairman Ahn Kyu-baek passed the issuance of a summons for witnesses, including President Yoon Seok-yeol, who did not appear. Photo by Yonhap News

Former Army Special Warfare Command Commander Gwak Jong-geun was testified by his subordinates that during last year's emergency martial law, he instructed the troops dispatched to the National Assembly, "The President said to break down the door and drag out the lawmakers. If necessary, cut off the electricity."

Brigadier General Lee Sang-hyun, commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade of the Special Warfare Command, testified to this effect on the 21st at the 4th hearing of the National Assembly's "Special Committee for the Investigation of the Truth Behind the Charge of Rebellion through the Declaration of Emergency Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Government (National Investigation Special Committee)."

According to the testimony, former Commander Gwak called Brigadier General Lee on a secure phone between 12:50 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. on December 4 last year and said this. This timing was just before the National Assembly held a plenary session to pass a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law.

Brigadier General Lee recounted the situation, saying, "When a soldier receives an important order from a superior, they are supposed to mechanically repeat it back. I asked, 'Did the President really give such an order?' and repeated it back, and he said 'yes' with a slightly hesitant voice before hanging up the phone."

Brigadier General Lee added, "Just as the call ended, I received a call from the commander of the 1st Battalion, and I told him the same thing, 'The President gave this order.' During the investigation process, I also confirmed that this phone call was recorded."

Other subordinates supported this testimony. Colonel Ahn Hyo-young, operations staff officer of the 1st Airborne Brigade who was in the same room as Brigadier General Lee at the time, said he heard Brigadier General Lee's remarks while he was on the phone with former Commander Gwak.

Brigadier General Lee explained, "I conveyed the President's instructions to my subordinates, but I was somewhat embarrassed. Suddenly, I thought this could become a political issue, so I told the personnel to come out of the building."

Kim Young-kwon, chief of the counterintelligence unit at the Counterintelligence Command who was with former Commander Gwak in the command and control room, also said, "The commander was receiving a call with some tension, so I asked an officer nearby, and I heard the word 'Code One'." Code One is a term commonly used in the military to refer to the President. This indicates that former Commander Gwak was aware of receiving a call from President Yoon.