It seems like the major objective of the martial law decree was to prove election fraud. If fraud was going on it would seem any evidence would have been disposed of long ago. Additionally why wasn’t legal means taken against the National Election Commission instead of attempting a military raid?:
President Yoon Suk Yeol had conducted a legal review of last week’s martial law decree in person while rewriting it, the ex-defense minister, one of the key suspects in the alleged insurrection, said Wednesday.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was questioned by prosecutors at a detention facility for the first time since his arrest earlier in the day.
During the five-hour questioning, he reportedly testified that President Yoon conducted a legal review of the martial law declaration by himself, and that he and the president co-wrote the final draft, with Yoon editing part of the content.
Additionally, Kim is said to have assigned duties related to martial law to top military officials on Dec. 1 and attempted to access facilities connected to the National Election Commission to secure evidence concerning allegations of election fraud.
You can read more at the link.
I have said this before, but it was foolish of President Yoon to think Soldiers in the modern day ROK Army would want anything to do with being part of a Gwangju Uprising like event. This just shows what a disconnect the elites in the ROK government have with their rank and file Soldiers if they thought they would follow these martial law orders:
The actions of military officers who resisted what they viewed as unconstitutional orders during the chaos of the Dec. 3 martial law declaration are drawing renewed attention, highlighting how many, despite their duty to obey, took a stand against unjust commands.
Rep. Lee Gi-heon of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea said in a press release on Dec. 9 that “on the night of Dec. 3, when President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, there were counterintelligence officers and personnel who resisted the orders in various ways.”
He cited cases brought to his attention. The military counterintelligence command had been designated as a key unit to be deployed to the National Election Commission (NEC) under martial law.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has said the decision to deploy martial law troops to the National Election Commission was made “to assess the need for investigations into alleged fraud in the general election” in which opposition parties scored landslide wins over the ruling People Power Party.
The soldiers of the key investigative unit exhibited passive behavior before, during, and after their deployment to the NEC.
Kim Dae-woo, the commander of the Counterintelligence Command, is said to have summoned over 100 investigators prior to the declaration of martial law to assign tasks related to entering the commission.
When Major Choi expressed disbelief at the orders, Kim allegedly beat him severely, forced him onto a bus, and sent him to the commission, instructing him to secure the servers.
Despite the coercion, soldiers continued their resistance. Upon arriving at the NEC, they delayed executing the orders, which they believed were illegal, by engaging in trivial activities, such as eating instant noodles at a nearby convenience store.
You can read more at the link, but that must have been quite the site for the convenience store worker to see all these heavily armed Soldiers come in late at night and eat noodles.
I still find it amazing that President Yoon was convinced that the military would go along with his martial law plan. Young Soldiers today in the ROK army grew up socialized against another Gwangju Uprising incident and want no part of being involved in one today:
The chief of the Army Special Warfare Command said Tuesday he was ordered by President Yoon Suk Yeol to drag out lawmakers from the National Assembly building during martial law operations last week.
Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun made the claim during a parliamentary defense committee meeting, saying Yoon called him on a secured phone.
“He said the quorum didn’t appear to be met yet, so I should break down the doors, and go in and drag out the people inside,” he said.
The commander was referring to the quorum for lifting Yoon’s martial law decree, which is 150 of the 300 members of parliament. Ultimately, 190 lawmakers voted unanimously to lift the order.
Kwak said he consulted with commanders in the field about whether to storm into the parliamentary building while firing blanks or cut off power to stop the lawmakers from voting.
The commanders advised against such actions, and Kwak said he agreed with their judgment.
“Even if they were to go inside to execute the order, the troops involved would later become lawbreakers and too many people would be injured if they broke their way in, so I judged it wasn’t right,” he said.
You can read more at the link, but Lt. Gen. Kwak also said that President Yoon never told them use or fire their weapons.
Talk about getting bad advice from someone, Kim Yong-hyun is a fool to think ROK Soldiers would go along with this martial law attempt:
On Sunday, ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun was taken into custody at a Seoul detention facility after undergoing an investigation by prosecutors, a law enforcement official said, requesting anonymity in line with privacy rules. The official gave no further details. But South Korean media reported that Kim voluntarily appeared at a Seoul prosecutors’ office, where he had his mobile phone confiscated and was detained.
The reports said police searched Kim’s former office and residence on Sunday. Repeated calls to Seoul prosecutors’ offices and police agency were unanswered. Senior prosecutor Park Se-hyun said in a televised statement Sunday that authorities launched a 62-member special investigation team on the marital law case. Park, who will head the team, said the probe would “leave no suspicions.” Yoon accepted Kim’s resignation offer on Thursday after opposition parties submitted a separate impeachment motion against him.
You can read more at the link.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but a six month resignation window would give the political parties enough time to select a candidate and conduct an effective campaign in my opinion. Those pushing for a constitutional change to a four year Presidential term are likely trying to save Yoon the humiliation of resigning:
The PPP leadership is under growing pressure to present a unified exit plan as opposition parties have vowed to submit a second impeachment motion as early as Wednesday, with plans to table the motion at a plenary session on Thursday. The lack of a consensus on Yoon’s exit plan within the PPP may threaten a unified front to boycott a second impeachment motion.
PPP lawmakers aligned with Han have advocated for Yoon to step down as early as within six months, a scenario that would trigger a presidential election within 60 days from his removal in accordance with related laws.
However, pro-Yoon lawmakers are calling for a more gradual timeline, with some suggesting a constitutional amendment to shorten the presidential term. This process could delay his resignation until 2026.
The president’s five-year term officially ends in May 2027, but his political career has been cut short following the martial law fiasco on Dec. 3, with growing public calls for impeachment.
You can read more at the link.
