Photo : YONHAP News
A special counsel team has raided the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as well as the residence of former JCS officials over allegations related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law decree.
According to sources in the judicial community, investigators under Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young conducted a search and seizure operation at the JCS offices located in Seoul’s Yongsan District, as well as at the homes of former JCS Chairman Kim Myung-soo and other officials.
The search warrant identified the officials as suspects for their involvement in duties related to insurrection.
The investigation team suspects that President Yoon requested the JCS to deploy additional troops after the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding the lifting of the martial law enacted on December 3, 2024.
The warrant aims to establish whether the JCS was involved in troop operations before and after the martial law declaration and whether the JCS prepared for a “second martial law” at the direction of former President Yoon in the early hours following the declaration.
Investigators believe that after the National Assembly passed its resolution, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Chief of Staff of the Army Park An-su, who served as the martial law commander, and other officials gathered in a support room within the JCS combat control to discuss countermeasures.