Jangwon Hong: "If I Could Go Back to December 3, I Would Want to Ask Yoon, 'Why Are You Doing This?'"

I realized something was wrong when the arrest list was mentioned
"I still vividly remember his voice on the phone that night"

Jangwon Hong, former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, shared his thoughts, saying that if he could go back to the time of the 12·3 Martial Law, he would want to ask former President Yoon Sukyeol, "Why are you doing this?" Appearing on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyunjung's News Show' on April 18, Hong recalled the night of December 3 last year at 10:53 p.m., when former President Yoon called and said, "Round them all up this time. I will give the National Intelligence Service counterespionage investigative authority, so support the Defense Counterintelligence Command first." Hong began by saying, "At that time, I couldn't even dare to ask him anything."

Jangwon Hong, former 1st Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, appeared as a witness and spoke at the 5th hearing of President Yoon Sukyeol's impeachment trial held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Constitutional Court

Hong continued, "Moreover, since it was martial law and the president was giving a direct order over the phone to 'round them up,' I thought there must be something special going on. Since there was no object (no specific targets for arrest), and because the president strongly emphasized the Defense Counterintelligence Command, I called the commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, Ye Inhyeong." He added, "When I called Commander Ye, the first thing he said was, 'We are cooperating with the police to blockade the National Assembly.' Then, when he listed the names of 14 politicians to be arrested, including Lee Jaemyung, Woo Wonsik, and Han Donghoon, I realized something was wrong."

When the host asked, "If you could go back to the moment when the president called, what would you want to say or ask him?" Hong hesitated, saying, "I'm not sure," and then added, "Honestly, I would want to ask, 'Why are you doing this?' but I probably wouldn't have been able to say that." However, regarding the part where the president said, "Round them all up," he remarked, "I think I could have at least asked, 'Who exactly do you want me to arrest?' I still vividly remember his voice when I took that call. It is a deeply regrettable memory, with mixed feelings of both affection and resentment toward former President Yoon."

Previously, Jangwon Hong appeared twice as a witness at the 5th and 10th hearings at the Constitutional Court, testifying that on the night of martial law, he received the order "Round them all up" from former President Yoon and received a specific list of names from Ye Inhyeong, former Commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command. In response to Hong's testimony, on April 14, former President Yoon Sukyeol directly addressed the court for 82 minutes during the first formal hearing of his criminal trial on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection, actively denying the allegations. Former President Yoon argued, "The claim that I ordered anyone to be arrested is a blatant lie," and insisted that the call was merely to offer encouragement. Regarding his call with Hong, Yoon explained, "If I had any instructions for the National Intelligence Service, I would have given them to the Director, not to the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Deputy Directors. There was a miscommunication, and since I thought the Director was out of the country, I ended up calling the 1st Deputy Director."

After former President Yoon's removal from office, on April 11, Hong appeared on MBC Radio and was asked, "Why did former President Yoon call you that night (the night martial law was declared)?" Hong replied, "That's what I'm most curious about myself," and added, "If I explain the relationship between the president and the National Intelligence Service, I suppose such a situation could occur. (That is my assumption.)"