[Exclusive] President allegedly called for martial law, citing election fraud

[Anchor]

There are still questions about why President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law.

The prosecution has secured statements that may answer this question.

It is reported that shortly after the ruling party's defeat in the general election, President Yoon stated that a martial law was necessary to clarify allegations of election fraud, calling key figures from the military and intelligence agencies.

Reporter Jin Sun-min has the exclusive report.

[Report]

The general election in April ended with a defeat for the ruling party, and a month later, a meeting chaired by President Yoon Suk Yeol was held at the presidential residence.

It is understood that this informal gathering included President Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Yong-hyun, then head of the National Security Office, Shin Won-sik, then Minister of National Defense, Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Intelligence Service, and Yeo In-hyung, Commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, as identified by the prosecution.

One attendee at the time testified to the prosecution that President Yoon strongly argued that the cause of the election defeat was election fraud and that martial law was necessary to clarify the allegations.

This raises suspicions that the declaration of emergency martial law by President Yoon may have stemmed from the perception of defeat in the general election due to election fraud.

It is reported that most attendees, including Minister Shin and Director Cho, advised against martial law, saying, "It cannot be done."

However, after this meeting, there were allegations that President Yoon expressed the intention to implement martial law on two occasions, and he emphasized the need to confirm election fraud in a speech following the declaration of martial law.

[Yoon Suk Yeol, President/Nov. 12: "With a computer system this flawed, how can the public trust the election results?"]

The prosecution is focusing its investigative efforts on determining the origin of the declaration of martial law and how the preparations were conducted.

This is KBS News, Jin Sun-min.