South Korea’s impeached prime minister says Cabinet expressed concerns over martial law plan

Senior military officials testified in the court about their role in deploying to parliament that night.

“My mission was to blockade the parliament building and the members’ hall, and secure those buildings,” said Army Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, who personally led about 97 special forces troops on the ground.

Kim said after they entered the building, his commander, Kwak Jong-geun, ordered him to get in the main chamber of the building where lawmakers had gathered to lift the martial law.

“(My commander) asked if we could get in because he said there shouldn’t be more than 150 people,” Kim testified, though he said he did not know the significance of that number at the time, or whether his commander meant lawmakers.