South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol reportedly mentioned the possibility of declaring emergency martial law last year, calling it a last resort, according to testimony by former defense counterintelligence chief Yeo In-hyung during prosecution questioning.
According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, a local daily, Yeo testified that Yoon first mentioned “taking emergency action” to address “difficult social issues” in late December 2023. Yeo interprets “emergency action” as referring to the short-lived martial law imposed on Dec. 3, based on other conversations in the following months.
After the April general elections, in which the ruling People Power Party suffered a landslide defeat against the Democratic Party, Yoon began to mention the possibility of declaring martial law frequently, the newspaper reported Yeo as saying. Such discussions were had in private gatherings between Chungam High School alumni, where Yoon, Yeo and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun were present.
According to Hankyoreh, another local daily, Yeo also told prosecutors that a “list of people to apprehend” he received from Minister Kim when martial law was declared were individuals those Yoon “previously spoke of negatively.”
This testimony aligns with the claims made by former National Intelligence Service senior official Hong Jang-won during a Dec. 6 parliamentary session at the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee. Hong alleged that Yeo requested the locations of 10 individuals, including Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.
Yeo was arrested by the prosecution’s special investigation team Saturday over his alleged involvement in Yoon’s martial law declaration.
