The head of the South Korean Army Special Forces said he defied an order from the defence minister to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly to enforce martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this week.
Kwak Jong-keun, who instructed troops to march to parliament on Tuesday night after receiving orders from Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, made the comments on Friday on a YouTube channel run by an opposition lawmaker.
“I judged that it was clearly illegal to drag out the lawmakers, and troops who carry out the task would naturally be held legally responsible later,” Kwak said, referring to the instruction he received from Kim, who resigned shortly after martial law was rescinded.
“I knew it would be insubordination, but I did not carry out the task,” Kwak added. “I instructed troops not to enter the assembly.”
The 707th Special Mission Unit, which executed Tuesday night’s order, is primarily deployed for counter-terrorism operations and operates under Kwak.
Kwak apologised to citizens and his troops for following the martial law decree, saying he would reject any similar order in the future.
Yoon stunned South Korea and the world with his decision to impose martial law, which he revoked within hours after parliament unanimously rejected the move. Opposition lawmakers have since moved a motion to impeach Yoon, a vote now expected to take place on Saturday.
Yoon took the extraordinary step of imposing martial law out of frustration with lawmakers he blamed for blocking his legislative agenda.
Reports emerged on Friday that the president had an arrest list of parliamentarians that included Han Dong-hoon, the leader of his own People Power Party.
The list also included the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, as well as three opposition lawmakers, the National Intelligence Service deputy director said.
The president tried to “use this chance to arrest them and wipe them out”, said director Hong Jang-won.
The revelation came as political parties held emergency meetings throughout Friday to plan for Saturday’s impeachment vote. It could be held as early as 5pm, a senior Democratic Party member said.
Yoon has lost the support of his own party leader, increasing the chances he will be impeached. For now, the official position of the People Power Party is that they will oppose the motion put forward by the Democrats.
But People Power leader Han on Friday called for the president to be suspended from office quickly.
The opposition have a majority in the 300-seat parliament but need the support of at least eight ruling party MPs to secure the 200 votes required for the impeachment motion to pass.
Han said it would be dangerous to allow the president to stay in office.
“Considering the newly revealed facts, I believe that a swift suspension of Yoon’s duties is necessary to protect the people of the Republic of Korea,” he said, explaining why he shifted his position from a day earlier.
“If Yoon continues to serve as the president of the Republic of Korea, there is a high risk that extreme actions such as this emergency martial law will be repeated, and that this will put the Republic of Korea and its people at great risk.”
While it isn’t clear how widely Han’s views are shared within the party, his faction holds about 20 lawmakers, and they were among those who joined with the opposition in the early-morning hours of Wednesday to vote down the martial law order. If they stay united, that would be enough to swing the vote against Yoon.
Yoon and Han held a meeting Friday, but the talks delivered no breakthrough in the political crisis.
Kwak Jong-keun, who instructed troops to march to parliament on Tuesday night after receiving orders from Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, made the comments on Friday on a YouTube channel run by an opposition lawmaker.
“I judged that it was clearly illegal to drag out the lawmakers, and troops who carry out the task would naturally be held legally responsible later,” Kwak said, referring to the instruction he received from Kim, who resigned shortly after martial law was rescinded.
“I knew it would be insubordination, but I did not carry out the task,” Kwak added. “I instructed troops not to enter the assembly.”
The 707th Special Mission Unit, which executed Tuesday night’s order, is primarily deployed for counter-terrorism operations and operates under Kwak.
Kwak apologised to citizens and his troops for following the martial law decree, saying he would reject any similar order in the future.
Yoon stunned South Korea and the world with his decision to impose martial law, which he revoked within hours after parliament unanimously rejected the move. Opposition lawmakers have since moved a motion to impeach Yoon, a vote now expected to take place on Saturday.
Yoon took the extraordinary step of imposing martial law out of frustration with lawmakers he blamed for blocking his legislative agenda.
Reports emerged on Friday that the president had an arrest list of parliamentarians that included Han Dong-hoon, the leader of his own People Power Party.
The list also included the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, as well as three opposition lawmakers, the National Intelligence Service deputy director said.
The president tried to “use this chance to arrest them and wipe them out”, said director Hong Jang-won.
The revelation came as political parties held emergency meetings throughout Friday to plan for Saturday’s impeachment vote. It could be held as early as 5pm, a senior Democratic Party member said.
Yoon has lost the support of his own party leader, increasing the chances he will be impeached. For now, the official position of the People Power Party is that they will oppose the motion put forward by the Democrats.
But People Power leader Han on Friday called for the president to be suspended from office quickly.
The opposition have a majority in the 300-seat parliament but need the support of at least eight ruling party MPs to secure the 200 votes required for the impeachment motion to pass.
Han said it would be dangerous to allow the president to stay in office.
“Considering the newly revealed facts, I believe that a swift suspension of Yoon’s duties is necessary to protect the people of the Republic of Korea,” he said, explaining why he shifted his position from a day earlier.
“If Yoon continues to serve as the president of the Republic of Korea, there is a high risk that extreme actions such as this emergency martial law will be repeated, and that this will put the Republic of Korea and its people at great risk.”
While it isn’t clear how widely Han’s views are shared within the party, his faction holds about 20 lawmakers, and they were among those who joined with the opposition in the early-morning hours of Wednesday to vote down the martial law order. If they stay united, that would be enough to swing the vote against Yoon.
Yoon and Han held a meeting Friday, but the talks delivered no breakthrough in the political crisis.
