South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol authorised the military to fire their weapons if needed to enter parliament during his failed bid to impose martial law, according to a prosecutor’s report.
The background: On 3 December, as MPs rushed to parliament to vote down Yoon’s martial law declaration, heavily armed troops stormed the building, scaling fences, smashing windows and landing by helicopter.
New allegations have now emerged in a 10-page summary from a prosecution indictment report, which was provided to the media. That report said Yoon vowed on 3 December to declare martial law three times if necessary.
According to the report, Yoon told the chief of the capital defence command, Lee Jin-woo, that military forces could shoot if necessary to enter the National Assembly.
The key quotes: “Have you still not got in? What are you doing? Break down the door and drag them out, even if it means shooting,” Yoon told Lee, according to the report.
Yoon also allegedly told the head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, General Kwak Jong-keun, to “quickly get inside” the National Assembly since the quorum for the martial law declaration to be lifted had not been met.
What else to know: Yoon’s lawyer Yoon Kab-keun dismissed the prosecutors’ report, saying it was “a one-sided account that neither corresponds to objective circumstances nor common sense”.
Yoon was , and is under investigation for his short-lived attempt to scrap civilian rule, which plunged the country into political turmoil and led to his impeachment.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court held its first preliminary hearing on the validity of Yoon’s impeachment on Friday.
Yoon and a number of senior officials face a separate criminal investigation for potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority and obstructing people from exercising their rights.
What happens next: The Constitutional Court will hold a second hearing next week to review whether to reinstate Yoon or remove him permanently from office. It has 180 days to reach a decision.
The court will also decide the fate of Yoon’s replacement, Han Duck-soo, who was impeached Friday over his refusal to complete Yoon’s impeachment process and bring him to justice.
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