hankyoreh

Kim Yong-hyun, the nominee to become Korea’s next defense minister, arrives at his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly on Sept. 2, 2024. (Yonhap)

The leadership of the People Power Party (PPP) has joined the presidential office in accusing Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung of spreading conspiracy theories. During a meeting with PPP leader Han Dong-hoon behind closed doors on Sunday, Lee hinted that the president and his administration were preparing to declare martial law. Han, who shook Lee’s hand after the meeting, switched gears the following day to march in step with the presidential office and its attack on Lee. 

Switching to attack mode a day later

During a meeting of the PPP’s Supreme Council on Monday, Han declared, “Is [Lee] saying the president is secretly preparing to declare martial law? That’s a serious allegation. Present your evidence, your proof. If it’s a lie, you’re spreading conspiracy theories.” 

Although Lee had mentioned “talk about martial law keeps coming up recently” during introductory remarks while meeting with Han for an inter-party summit the previous day, Han did not appear to exhibit any particular reaction after the meeting. On the other hand, the presidential office criticized Lee even before the meeting had finished, labeling his remarks “a baseless political attack that defies common sense.”

Once Han changed tack and spoke out against Lee, a number of others including floor leader Choo Kyung-ho and even Supreme Council members Kim Jae-won and Kim Min-jeon jumped on the bandwagon and criticized Lee’s comments on martial law. 

These actions by the leadership of the People Power Party (PPP) appear to be motivated by suspicions that Lee’s remarks could be a signal for the Democratic Party to attempt to formalize impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk-yeol and allegations pertaining to martial law implementation with military authorities. At a confirmation hearing for national defense minister candidate Kim Yong-hyun held by the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee on the same day, Kim received a series of questions from Democratic Party members over alleged preparations for martial law through the “Choongam faction” of military personnel affiliated with Yoon, referring to the alma mater of Yoon and Kim Yong-hyun.

On Aug. 21, Democratic Party Supreme Council member Kim Min-seok stated, “The government is suddenly replacing the minister of national defense with Presidential Security Service chief Kim Yong-hyun, a Cha Ji-cheol-style suppressor of the opposition, and the president has made unprompted remarks about ‘anti-state forces.’ There are reasonable grounds to believe the government is mindful of a limited war and North Korean influence and moving to prepare for a martial law order.” 

“I am one of the people who obtained information and reported that the government was preparing to invoke martial law during the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye,” Kim Min-seok said. 

“The Park administration vehemently denied this, and yet it turned out to be true. I will make sure that any attempt to formulate a martial law order in preparation for impeachment [of President Yoon] fails,” he went on.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon (center left) and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung sit down for talks on Sept. 1, 2024, in the National Assembly building in Seoul. (pool photo)

Why was Lee talking about martial law anyway?

Han attacked Lee’s remarks on martial law, stating, “In this respect, I have suggested resolving the issue of limiting abuse of [National Assembly] immunity through legislation.” In the bilateral meeting the previous day, Han noted, “We should discuss the option of using legislation [instead of judicial precedent] to limit the scope of [National Assembly] immunity that is being abused.”

Within the context of this meeting, Lee’s mention of martial law appears to be an unscripted reaction to Han’s prepared remarks. Han initially proposed political reforms including abandoning freedom from arrest and immunity for National Assembly members while referring to prepared notes, but then suddenly brought up the possibility of appealing the decision in Lee’s court case. This appears to have been a prepared provocation.

Speaking off the cuff, Lee responded to Han’s provocation by offering one of his own, stating, “The president’s immunity from prosecution corresponds to National Assembly immunity, so it should be discussed on the same level. There is a high risk of sliding into an administrative dictatorship.” 

In a situation marked by frequent controversies over the unequal application of the law by prosecutors, abolishing only National Assembly immunity could neutralize the National Assembly’s ability to keep the president in check through selectively targeted investigations and the arrest or detention of opposition lawmakers. 

Lee explained this before adding, “The previous martial law proposal included a plan to arrest and detain National Assembly lawmakers in order to stop the National Assembly from demanding an end to martial law. Isn’t that an outright dictatorship?”

What’s got Yongsan irked

The martial law proposal Lee referred to is a document produced in secret by the Defense Security Command (now the Defense Counterintelligence Command) in February 2017 that considered invoking martial law during the Park Geun-hye administration. Former Defense Security Command chief Cho Hyun-chun, who ordered the creation of this document, was cleared of charges including conspiracy and preparing for civil war by prosecutors in February this year. The ruling party is using this as grounds to claim the Democratic Party is once again spreading baseless rumors about the government preparing for martial law.

However, the 2017 document included details such as the declaration of martial law, measures to be carried out in each stage, and a starting date to prepare for implementation. The document contained specific plans including mobilizing tanks to suppress candlelight protests in Gwanghwamun in the event that the impeachment of Park was dismissed, and arresting and detaining lawmakers to prevent the National Assembly from reaching the quorum required to lift martial law if it attempted to do so.

A portion of the document secretly created by the Defense Security Command (now the Defense Counterintelligence Command) examining the possibility of declaring martial law in February 2017, during the administration of Park Geun-hye.

Under martial law, the military is in charge of maintaining public order, which entails a massive violation of basic rights. Accordingly, the Constitution and other laws clearly outline the conditions for declaring martial law, as well as procedures and provisions on the lifting of a martial law order. 

If the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law via a majority vote among members on the register, the president is required to obey. At the time, the Defense Security Command had formulated a plan to detain opposition lawmakers for various violations of martial law to prevent the National Assembly from lifting it.

Cho fled to the US in December 2017 when an investigation was launched into his actions. He made a sudden return to Korea five years later, in March 2023, the second year after the Yoon administration came to power. The opposition suspected his return was prompted by the expectation that there was no chance of being subject to legal proceedings after the change in government. In February this year, Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office cleared Cho of charges including conspiracy and preparing for civil war, indicting him only for wrongful use of authority.

Two instances of guarding martial law both led to declaration of emergency martial law

In political circles, it appears Lee’s remarks refer only to “guarding martial law” in which the military is responsible for public order. The Martial Law Act covers both “emergency martial law” and “guarding martial law,” with the provisions on the latter stating, “Guarding martial law shall be declared by the President for the purpose of maintaining the public security and order when the social order is so disturbed that civil administrative authorities cannot preserve the public peace.” 

The last time emergency martial law was declared in Korea was for nine days in Busan during the Busan-Masan Uprising of October 1979, near the end of Park Chung-hee’s Yushin regime, and 439 days from Oct. 27, 1979, the day after Park Chung-hee’s assassination, until Jan. 24, 1981. Guarding martial law was invoked during the April Revolution of 1960 and the May 16 coup of 1961, but this was followed by a declaration of emergency martial law in both cases. In other words, there has never been an instance of guarding martial law being invoked on its own.

Unlike the Blue House, the Yongsan presidential office has no natural barriers on any of its four sides, meaning police forces have limited ability to stop large-scale demonstrations or riots. This has led to suspicion that the military is internally drawing up plans for guarding-level martial law. 

If guarding martial law is expanded to emergency martial law, the military gains control over all facets of administration and the judiciary in addition to public order. Even the 2017 Defense Security Command document outlined a gradual upgrade from garrison decree, to guarding martial law, to emergency martial law. 

Last month, Yoon overhauled his entire national security and defense teams. Kim Yong-hyun, the Presidential Security Service chief who happened to graduate from Choongam High School one year ahead of Yoon, has been tapped to be the next minister of defense. This sudden appointment perplexed even conservative media outlets. 

Prior to this, in November 2023, Yeo In-hyeong was appointed to lead the Defense Counterintelligence Command. Yeo is another Choongam alum. 

After it created the memo for exploring the declaration of martial law during the Park Geun-hye administration, the Defense Security Command was shuttered before being reborn as the Defense Security Support Command. Under Yoon, it’s changed its name once again, becoming the Defense Counterintelligence Command. 

By Kim Nam-il, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]