Appears Before Special Prosecutor as Reference Witness
Attended Vote to Lift Martial Law on the Day of Declaration
On August 18, Baek Hye-ryeon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared before the special prosecutor team led by Cho Eun-seok to be questioned regarding allegations of "obstructing the lifting of martial law in the National Assembly."
The special prosecutor's team began questioning Representative Baek as a witness around 4 p.m. that day.
Upon her arrival, Representative Baek stated, "At that time, it was a situation where any lawmaker should have come to the main chamber to participate in the vote. However, lawmakers from the People Power Party did not vote and remained in the floor leader's office," adding, "I believe there were actions intended to obstruct the vote."
Representative Baek, a former prosecutor, previously served as a member of the Special Parliamentary Committee for Fact-Finding on the Alleged Insurrection through the Proclamation of Martial Law by the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration.
The special prosecutor's team is currently investigating allegations that, at the request of former President Yoon Suk-yeol's side, then People Power Party floor leader Chu Kyung-ho and others obstructed other lawmakers from participating in the vote to lift martial law by repeatedly changing the location of the party's general meeting. Recently, opposition lawmakers who participated in the vote at the time, including Cho Kyung-tae, Kim Sang-wook, and Kim Ye-ji, have been summoned one after another.
Immediately after the proclamation of martial law, then floor leader Chu convened an emergency general meeting of lawmakers, initially announcing the location as the National Assembly, then changing it to the party headquarters in Yeouido. He later changed the location back to the National Assembly, then once again to the Yeouido party headquarters. As a result, many People Power Party lawmakers were unable to attend the vote to lift martial law, and the National Assembly's resolution to demand the lifting of martial law was passed with 190 lawmakers present and 190 in favor, while 90 out of 108 People Power Party lawmakers did not participate.
The special prosecutor's team is expected to question Representative Baek about how police blocked lawmakers and aides from entering the National Assembly during martial law, as well as the actions of military personnel who entered the parliamentary premises and their movements during the process of blocking or infiltrating the National Assembly.
The special prosecutor's team is also focusing its investigative efforts on reconstructing the situation before and after the vote to lift martial law in the National Assembly, including securing internal and external video footage of the National Assembly on the night martial law was declared.
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