Testimony in Yoon's Rebellion Trial:
"Special Warfare Commander Grew Impatient Amid Urgent Calls"
Yoon's Side Questions Credibility:
"Did You Write the Memo to Favor Yourself and Reduce Criminal Liability?"
The chief of staff, who was the most senior staff officer of the Army Special Warfare Command deployed to the National Assembly during the 12·3 Martial Law, appeared as a witness in the trial of former President Yoon Sukyeol and testified that he saw former Commander Jonggeun Kwak speaking on the phone with someone during the martial law and saying, "I will break down the door if I have to and go in."
On May 19, Brigadier General Park Junghwan, chief of staff of the Special Warfare Command, appeared as a witness in the trial of former President Yoon on charges of leading a rebellion, presided over by Judge Ji Guyoun of the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 25, and gave this testimony. Brigadier General Park stated that during the martial law, Commander Kwak, who was with him, received numerous urgent phone calls regarding the helicopter dispatch situation, adding, "When asked over the phone, 'How many minutes will it take?', he would shorten the actual 15 minutes to 5 minutes, showing how impatient he was." Park also testified that although he did not hear what instructions Commander Kwak was receiving from his superior over the phone, he did hear him respond to the caller, saying, "Yes, understood. I will go in, even if I have to break down the door."
Jonggeun Kwak, former commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, appeared as a witness on February 6 at the 6th hearing of President Yoon Sukyeol's impeachment trial held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, answering questions from the respondents' legal representatives. 2025.2.6. Photo by the Constitutional Court
Previously, Commander Kwak had stated in witness testimony at the Constitutional Court impeachment trial that former President Yoon called him on a secure phone and said, "Break down the doors of the National Assembly quickly, go in, and drag out those inside." However, on this day, Brigadier General Park said he did not know who Commander Kwak was speaking to at the time, but guessed it might have been former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun. It has been reported that Commander Kwak received calls from both former President Yoon and former Minister Kim at the time.
Brigadier General Park further testified that Commander Kwak subsequently gave orders to his subordinates, including Lee Sanghyun, commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade, to "break the windows," "go in even if you have to break down the doors of the National Assembly," and "drag out the lawmakers so they can't vote," stating, "When the order to 'drag them out' was given, it was such a shocking directive that the operations chief and intelligence chief, who heard it with me, exchanged glances and looked visibly flustered."
He also said, "When the news showed a segment about the 'martial law lift vote,' Commander Kwak, at that point, ordered, 'They shouldn't vote,' and 'Go in quickly.' At that moment, the staff members next to me and I thought, 'This isn't right.'" Brigadier General Park explained that the reason he later wrote a memo about the situation during martial law was because "it was such an enormous incident, and I felt it was a major problem and a mistake," adding, "I thought I should record the important wording, so I did."
Former President Yoon Sukyeol is responding to reporters' questions as he leaves for lunch after the morning session of the fourth trial on charges of leading a rebellion and abuse of authority at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on May 19, 2025, at noon. Photo by Joint Press Corps
During cross-examination of Brigadier General Park, former President Yoon's legal team asked, "Given the atmosphere of being accused of rebellion and the fact that the statutory penalties include the death penalty and life imprisonment, weren't you concerned about going to the command and control room early?" probing the background of his testimony to the military prosecution. In response, Brigadier General Park said, "When it was all over, issues of trust in the commander and the sense of betrayal felt by myself and my subordinates were all tangled up. That was part of the reason (for going to the command and control room early), but I had no particular intention."
Yoon's attorney, Yoon Gapgeun, also asked Brigadier General Park about Commander Kwak's order to "secure the National Assembly," saying, "After the martial law was declared, thousands of people gathered. Wasn't the order to 'secure' the National Assembly meant to maintain order?" Brigadier General Park replied, "At the time, in any unit, the word 'secure' would have been interpreted in connection with provocations or disturbances by North Korea or the enemy," and said he did not think of the order in connection with crowd control of people gathered at the National Assembly.
Yoon's attorney, Bae Jinhwan, further asked, "Were the soldiers who entered the National Assembly an organized military unit?" and "Did the soldiers go in without prior notice, not knowing their roles?" Brigadier General Park answered, "Soldiers are conditioned to react automatically when they hear words like 'enemy' or 'North Korea.' When I heard 'be on alert,' I thought, 'North Korea has finally done something,' but when we arrived, there were no clear instructions, so the special forces troops could not respond properly..." At this point, Attorney Bae interrupted and continued his questioning. Yoon's legal team also questioned the credibility of Brigadier General Park's memo and testimony, asking, "Isn't it possible you wrote it in a way favorable to yourself to lessen your own criminal liability?"
After concluding Brigadier General Park's testimony, the court proceeded with the arraignment procedure for the additional abuse of authority charges against former President Yoon. In this process, the prosecution stated the main points of the indictment and applicable laws, while the defendant and defense counsel stated whether they admitted to the charges. The testimony of Lee Sanghyun, commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade, which was originally scheduled for this day, was postponed to the next session due to time constraints.
Meanwhile, before the witness examination, former President Yoon's legal team requested the court to take strict measures, claiming that investigative agencies had been leaking information unrelated to the charges to the media, saying, "This is either an attempt to influence the trial by shaping public opinion or to embarrass former President Yoon. Since it appears that records held by investigative agencies have been leaked, we request a stern warning and measures to prevent recurrence."
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