Special Warfare Commander: “President ordered to break down door and remove lawmakers”

[Anchor]

Army Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun presented new testimony today (12.10).

He stated that President Yoon Suk Yeol directly ordered to break down the door and pull out the lawmakers.

Commander Kwak also revealed that he was already aware of the martial law two days before it was declared.

Reporter Kim Jong-soo has the details.

[Report]

During his appearance at the National Assembly's Defense Committee, Commander Kwak Jong-keun disclosed additional details about his phone call with President Yoon Suk Yeol at the time of the military's entry into the National Assembly.

He said that President Yoon called him on a secure phone and instructed, "It seems that the quorum has not been fully met yet; quickly break down the door and pull out the people inside."

Commander Kwak stated that he ultimately did not carry out the President's orders.

[Kwak Jong-keun/Special Warfare Commander: "I judged that it was not right because the operational troops would later become offenders, and many people would get hurt."]

Commander Kwak also mentioned that he was aware of the martial law on December 1st, two days before it was declared on the 3rd.

He said that his mission was to secure six locations, including the National Assembly, the National Election Commission, and the Democratic Party headquarters, and that he received this order via phone from former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

Commander Kwak added that he did not relay this order to his subordinate brigade commanders at the time.

Meanwhile, Defense Intelligence Commander Moon Sang-ho revealed that troops waiting near the government office in Gwacheon were deployed to the National Election Commission based on orders from former Minister Kim.

[Moon Sang-ho/Defense Intelligence Commander/Currently Suspended: "I remember receiving the order around 10 to 11 AM. At the time of receiving the order, I was instructed to have troops ready to wait near the government office in Gwacheon by 9 PM..."]

Commander Moon stated that he dispatched ten field officers on the orders of former Minister Kim, and explained that their mission was to locate the Election Commission's computer room, guard it, and then hand it over to another team.

He also revealed that he himself issued the order for the deployment team to take photos of the computer room and send them.

Additionally, it has come to light that former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun ordered the 100th Brigade, a secret organization under the Defense Intelligence Command, to be on standby before the declaration of martial law, which also requires prompt investigation.

This is KBS News, Kim Jong-soo.