[News Today] CHECKING UP YOON’S CLAIM

[LEAD]
In their latest court filing, President Yoon's team reiterated that the declaration of martial law was justified and was not an act of insurrection. However, their arguments clash with earlier indictments and statements involving detained military leaders.

[REPORT]
In the second reply submitted to the court, President Yoon's defense team used the expression "peaceful emergency martial law."

It states that martial law troops had only resorted to breaking the windows and entering the parliament building to prevent accidents or bloodshed in face of the agitated crowd.

Regarding the first proclamation of the martial law decree, which banned all parliamentary activities, the president's legal defense team said it did not intend to block National Assembly members from entering the building.

However, this runs counter to the insurrection-related indictment against former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

It said Yoon had ordered to drag out the lawmakers even if that meant using firearms or axes to break down the doors.

It also states Yoon ordered to detain the lawmakers who tried to enter the National Assembly building for violating the martial law decree.

Yoon's defense team also claims that the first said proclamation of the decree drafted by the former defense minister was a hasty copy of past military regime decrees and contained mistakes.

However, none of some ten proclamations declared since the government's establishment banned the activities of the parliament, councils or political parties.

The proclamations that came as part of decrees in October 1972 and May 1980 by the past governments did mention "political activities" but they only banned rallies and demonstrations without prohibiting parliamentary activities.