Attorney 'Gyemongryeong' on Yeo-Soon Incident Truth Report Team? Bereaved Families Demand "Dismissal"

"Risk of Distortion by Certain Political Positions"

It has been revealed that attorney Kim Gyeri, one of the defense lawyers in President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial, is included in the planning team for the Yeosu-Suncheon October 19 Incident (Yeosun Incident) truth investigation report. Bereaved families and local political circles demanded Kim's dismissal, stating that "the Yeosun Incident risks being distorted by certain political positions."

On the 27th, representatives of the bereaved families of the Yeosun Incident and lawmakers from the eastern Jeonnam region, including Joo Cheol-hyun, Kim Moon-soo, Kwon Hyang-yeop, Moon Geum-ju, and Jo Gye-won, held a press conference at the National Assembly, urging the dismissal of attorney Kim and the reorganization of the planning team for the truth investigation report.

Attorney Kim Gye-ri, a representative of President Yoon Seok-yeol, is making a defense for the respondent during the 11th impeachment trial of President Yoon held on the 25th at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by the Constitutional Court

The Yeosun Incident occurred on October 19, 1948, when some soldiers of the 14th Regiment of the Republic of Korea Army stationed in Yeosu refused orders to suppress the Jeju 43 Incident and initiated an uprising. During the suppression of this uprising, martial law was declared, resulting in many civilian casualties.

The bereaved families' association and the lawmakers stated, "Attorney Kim, who defended President Yoon in the impeachment trial, argued that 'there was no blockade of the National Assembly' and described the martial law measures as an 'enlightenment order to awaken the people.' It is a serious conflict of interest and an act that undermines fairness for a person who defended President Yoon to participate in drafting a report that investigates the truth of the Yeosun Incident." They further demanded, "Attorney Kim and other members should be immediately dismissed, and the planning team should be reorganized with experts who possess political neutrality and objectivity."

Meanwhile, attorney Kim, one of President Yoon's legal representatives, is a controversial figure due to his so-called 'enlightenment order' claim. Among some far-right YouTubers, the claim that "the December 3 martial law declaration was an enlightenment order to awaken the people" has been circulated. Attorney Kim defended martial law during the final arguments of President Yoon's impeachment trial on the 25th, stating, "I was enlightened." He said, "I became involved in this case by sharing the time I had set aside to be with my child after confirming the atrocities committed by the Democratic Party, the fascist acts of one-party dictatorship, which I was unaware of due to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare."