Dispute over martial law order

[Anchor]

Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun claimed that he instructed to extract agents, not lawmakers, from the National Assembly.

However, this contradicts the repeated statements of former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun, who received instructions from Kim, as well as the results of the prosecution's investigation.

Reporter Gong Min-kyung has looked into this matter once again.

[Report]

During the fourth trial, President Yoon Suk Yeol's side asked the following question.

[Song Jin-ho/Lawyer/President Yoon's side · Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun: "(Based on concerns of casualties, isn't it true that the instruction to extract 'agents' was turned into a request to extract 'lawmakers' by Congressman Kim Byung-joo?) Yes, that's correct."]

The question was whether the instruction to extract 'agents' was transformed to 'lawmakers,' to which former Minister Kim Yong-hyun answered affirmatively.

However, former Commander Kwak has consistently stated that both former Minister Kim and President Yoon instructed to pull out 'lawmakers' from the National Assembly.

[Kwak Jong-geun/Former Special Warfare Commander/Dec. 10/National Assembly Defense Committee: "The President called me directly on a secure phone. He said, 'It seems that the quorum has not been fully met yet, quickly break down the door and pull out the people inside.'"]

There are also specific statements indicating that the instructions were broadcast live due to the microphone being on at the time.

[Kim Hyun-tae/707th Special Mission Group Commander/Dec. 9: "Minister Kim Yong-hyun said, 'Hey, quickly go in and pull out the lawmakers,' and in the command control room, it was relayed as 'Hey, they said to pull out the lawmakers, so hurry up and convey that.'"]

The prosecution's indictment also states that President Yoon instructed to "break down the door even if it means shooting" and "arrest the lawmakers entering the National Assembly."

Whether it was 'agents' or 'lawmakers,' there are also criticisms that the deployment of military forces to the National Assembly during the emergency martial law itself is unconstitutional.

[Noh Hee-beom/Lawyer/Former Constitutional Court Research Officer: "Even under emergency martial law, there is no legal authority to restrict the powers of the National Assembly. The act of sending military forces to the National Assembly and trying to bring soldiers into the main building itself is a serious violation of the Constitution."]

On the day of the martial law, over 2,400 military and police personnel were deployed to the National Assembly.

This is KBS News, Gong Min-kyung.