(4th LD) Yoon acknowledges troop dispatch to election commission during martial law decree

▲ This combined image shows President Yoon Suk Yeol (L); Lee Jin-woo (2nd from L), former head of the Capital Defense Command; Yeo In-hyung (2nd from R), former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command; and Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, speaking during the fifth formal hearing of Yoon's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 4, 2025. (Yonhap)

▲ Military officers take photos of system servers at an office of the National Election Commission on Dec. 6, 2024, in this file photo provided by the National Assembly. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) speaks during his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 4, 2025, in this photo provided by the court. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(4th LD) Yoon-impeachment trial

(4th LD) Yoon acknowledges troop dispatch to election commission during martial law decree

(ATTN: ADDS more comments in last 4 paras, new photo; TRIMS)

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday he ordered sending troops to offices of the National Election Commission (NEC) during his martial law declaration as he has suspected election fraud allegations.

Yoon made the admission while attending the fifth formal hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, where he again denied allegations that he ordered military commanders to drag lawmakers out of parliament in an attempt to prevent them from blocking the martial law imposition.

"I ordered then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to dispatch troops to NEC offices," Yoon said. "It was not meant to conduct any criminal investigations, but to check systems and how they are operated."

Yoon added that he issued the order to Kim days before declaring martial law while discussing the matter with him.

"When I dealt with electoral fraud cases as a prosecutor, I saw many incomprehensible, fake ballots. And I've long thought of election fraud problems," Yoon said.

Hundreds of troops were sent to election offices in Seoul, Gwacheon and Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, during the Dec. 3 martial law decree.

Yoon has raised questions over the NEC's credibility following alleged cyberattacks by North Korean hackers, though the NEC has dismissed such allegations as groundless.

The National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon over his shocking, albeit short-lived, imposition of martial law. Yoon was indicted over charges of leading an insurrection and has been under arrest.

Yoon is also alleged to have sent military troops to the National Assembly to keep lawmakers from voting down the martial law declaration and to have planned to arrest key political figures.

"Nothing actually happened (during martial law decree) ... I feel like we are chasing the moon's shadow on a lake," Yoon said. "You would know the true nature of this case if you saw it based on common sense."

Yoon claimed that dragging lawmakers from parliament could not have been possible as there are thousands of civilians in the National Assembly compound and troops were withdrawn after martial law was lifted.

During Tuesday's session, Lee Jin-woo, former head of the Capital Defense Command, said he had not received orders from Yoon or Kim to prevent lawmakers from voting to lift martial law.

Lee reportedly told prosecutors earlier that Yoon ordered him to instruct troops to carry out lawmakers from inside, "firing guns and breaking down doors" if necessary.

Lee, who was accused of involvement in the martial law imposition and is currently under arrest, was called as a witness by the National Assembly's legal team.

The parliamentary team has been acting as the prosecutor in the trial on whether to uphold or reject the Assembly's impeachment of Yoon.

Asked if he believes that Kim's troop dispatch order was legal, Lee said he still sees it as legitimate in accordance with the Martial Law Act.

Lee, however, refused to testify further.

"I myself am involved in a criminal case and a process is under way to determine whether to accept or deny the prosecution's report," Lee said, referring to his own trial on charges he played a key role in an insurrection.

"I am aware it is a serious and important situation, but please understand that I am restricted considerably," he said, suggesting his answers could work against him.

Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC), also attended the session as a witness but refused to testify.

Yeo allegedly received orders from Kim to arrest and detain opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and then ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon, among others.

The former commander did not respond to the question of whether he received a list of politicians to be arrested when martial law was in force, though he admitted that he gave a list of "specific figures" to then National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho and asked to locate them.

Yeo also said that he asked Cho to send police officials to form a joint investigative body in line with the decree and operation plans.

Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, told the hearing that he received a phone call from Yoon instructing him to "round them all up" and help the DCC.

As Yoon did not specify who to arrest, Hong called Yeo and learned of 14 to 16 figures subject to be detained at a command facility for probe, the former deputy director said.

Yoon claimed that he called Hong twice on Dec. 3 but it was nothing to do with his martial law declaration.

Yoon has defended his actions as a "warning" to the opposition party while denying giving orders to arrest politicians.

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