Ex-military commanders testify against president

Kwak Jong-geun, former head of the Army Special Warfare Command, listens to lawmakers during a session on President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Newsis Lt. Gen.

Kwak says he was told to 'drag out' lawmakers from National Assembly By Jung Min-ho Former military commanders testified against President Yoon Suk Yeol, Tuesday, with one claiming he was ordered to paralyze the National Assembly when martial law was imposed on Dec. 3. During a session held at the Assembly on Yoon’s alleged insurrection attempt, Kwak Jong-geun, former head of the Army Special Warfare Command, said the president directly told him to drag lawmakers out of the Assembly building that day — a testimony that goes against the claims of Yoon’s defense attorneys.



“The president told me to ‘drag out the people inside’ over a secret phone,” Kwak said. His remarks contrast with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun’s denial of the accusation. During a Jan.

23 hearing for Yoon’s impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, Kim claimed that he instructed military commanders to get “yowon” (agents), not “euiwon” (lawmakers), out of the building while insisting that troops were deployed there only to “maintain order.” Kwak dismissed the claims as false. “At the time of the phone call, there were no agents inside the building,” Kwak said, adding that agents of the 707th Special Mission Group were sent in afterward.

He also said he had not been instructed to “maintain order” or “protect citizens” or told the troops were deployed to the Assembly just “as a warning” — all claimed by the president's side. He then denied allegations that he was testifying against the president, saying he was only helping to establish the truth. President Yoon Suk Yeol closes his eyes during a hearing for his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Tuesday.

Newsis Following the Assembly session, two other former military commanders — Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and Lee Jin-woo, former head of the Capital Defense Command — as well as Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, spoke as witnesses at a hearing in the Constitutional Court. Lee, who was indicted on charges of playing a major role in the president’s martial law fiasco, refused to reveal any specific details about his call with Yoon — perhaps because of his own legal risks. Lee, however, admitted that he received a phone call from Yoon that day.

During the prosecution’s questioning, Lee reportedly told investigators that Yoon directed him to remove lawmakers from the Assembly by “firing guns and breaking down doors” if necessary. “I have been investigated in a criminal case and in the process of giving evidence (admitting or denying) to the prosecution’s investigation ..

. please understand that (my responses) will be very limited,” he said. Yoon’s defense team has insisted that the president did not have any intention to disrupt the operation of the Assembly when he declared martial law and the decree banning all political activities was meant only to serve as a “warning” to opposition lawmakers.

Outside the court, about 200 supporters of Yoon held a rally in spite of the freezing weather. Some people held signs with messages such as “Free the President” and “Impeachment Invalid.” The court is expected to deliver its verdict within four months on whether to uphold or dismiss the Assembly’s impeachment motion of Yoon over his decision to declare martial law, which ended in hours after lawmakers voted to nullify it.

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