Cabinet probed over martial law

[Anchor]

As you just saw, the special counsel investigating the insurrection is questioning cabinet members daily over their roles during the martial law declaration.

They aim to reconstruct the events of that day in detail to establish charges against former President Yoon and others.

Reporter Shin Hyun-wook has reconstructed what happened inside the Cabinet meeting on the day martial law was declared.

[Report]

On the evening of Dec. 3 last year, just before the emergency martial law was declared, former President Yoon Suk-yeol summoned cabinet members to his office around 8 p.m.

One by one, five cabinet members arrived—starting with former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and including former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. With former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun already present, a total of seven people, including President Yoon himself, were gathered.

When Yoon made the shocking announcement that he intended to declare martial law, former Prime Minister Han reportedly said a formal Cabinet meeting must be held to hear members' opinions. Only then, around 9 p.m., did Yoon give the order to summon additional cabinet members.

Following the second round of calls, four more cabinet members arrived, including former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok. Once the required quorum of 11 was met, Yoon declared his intent to impose martial law at 10:17 p.m. and left the office.

However, it's reported that no attempt was made to contact six other cabinet members, including Education Minister Lee Ju-ho.

The special counsel is now focused on reconstructing who was contacted and who wasn’t.

This is in order to determine whether those present were co-conspirators—or whether those excluded were victims, denied their lawful right to participate.

[Lee Heon-hwan / Professor of Law, Ajou University Law School: "We need to distinguish between those who conspired, those who weren’t given a chance to voice their opinion as cabinet members, and those who weren’t contacted at all. Only then can a proper legal judgment be made."]

The special counsel team stated that it’s “too early to determine whether each cabinet member is a suspect or a victim,” adding that they are currently reviewing the full scope of each member's rights and responsibilities.

This is Shin Hyun-wook, KBS News.