At the Insurrection Trial on the 22nd,
Yoon Cites "Military Budget Cuts" as Grounds for Martial Law
Former President Yoon Sukyeol once again asserted the legitimacy of the December 3 Martial Law declared last year, identifying the National Assembly’s cuts to the military budget as the decisive background for the proclamation.
On the 22nd, during the 36th hearing on charges including leading an insurrection at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 25 (Presiding Judge Ji Guyoun), former President Yoon requested to speak while questioning former Army Chief of Staff Park Ansu, who was appearing as a witness.
Former President Yoon stated, "The declaration of martial law was prompted by the National Assembly’s massive cuts to the budget for improving the treatment of junior officers and noncommissioned officers." He added, "The official residences at the front lines are over 40 years old and have rust in the water, but whenever we submit a budget for repairs or moving expenses, it gets cut. Even when the command sergeant major wants to buy a chicken for the enlisted soldiers, the necessary funds are cut. I don’t understand how they selectively cut only these items."
When the court instructed him to "limit your questions to matters related to the case," former President Yoon maintained his stance, saying, "This is quite significant in relation to the reasons for declaring martial law." He had previously argued at the military court hearing on the 18th that "martial law was inevitable due to a national crisis caused by the National Assembly’s dictatorship and legislative tyranny."
However, some members of the National Assembly and the political community have refuted former President Yoon’s claims regarding the defense budget, which he has raised since his impeachment, by pointing to the facts. Immediately after the declaration of martial law in December last year, members of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts stated that the government’s claims about security budget cuts were "not true." According to data from the National Assembly at the time, budgets for improving junior officers’ housing, bonuses, and enlisted soldiers’ meal allowances were either maintained as originally proposed or even increased during the review process.
It was confirmed through National Assembly records that the budgets that were cut mainly included reserve funds and government publicity budgets for which the basis for execution was unclear.
At the time, the opposition party criticized, "The government is distorting related figures in the budget negotiation process to justify martial law."
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