On the morning of Dec. 3, 2024, a motorcade passes by way of the primary gate of the presidential workplace compound in Seoul after departing from the presidential residence in Seoul’s Hannam neighborhood. It’s suspected that this motorcade didn’t carry President Yoon Suk-yeol however was despatched to create the phantasm that he had arrived at work that morning. (nonetheless from the City Site visitors Info Middle)
At 8:52 am on Dec. 3, 2024, a line of black SUVs appeared on the entrance to the presidential residence in Seoul’s Hannam neighborhood, escorted by two police bikes on the entrance and rear. Whereas this was unmistakably a presidential motorcade, not one of the vehicles was transporting the president. It was a charade posing because the president simply heading to the workplace for an additional odd day.
Yoon Suk-yeol didn’t really head to work till 50 minutes later, at 9:42 am. This was one hour and 23 minutes earlier than his scheduled summit with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov at 11:10 am.
After the conclusion of the summit and its official banquet, it was round 2 pm. Yoon went to his workplace on the fifth flooring of the presidential workplace constructing. Round an hour later, Yoon started to take stories from numerous aides, which continued till round 5 pm.
After he’d acquired all the mandatory stories, Yoon summoned Park Chong-jun, the chief of the Presidential Safety Service, to his workplace at round 6:10 pm.
Yoon ordered him to “have the commissioner normal of the Nationwide Police Company and the Seoul Metropolitan Police commissioner come to the presidential safehouse by 7 pm.”
Yoon left his workplace at round 6:50 pm. Across the identical time, Kim Sung-hoon, the deputy chief of the Presidential Safety Service, known as Protection Minister Kim Yong-hyun on a safe line to report that the president had left his workplace.
Quickly afterwards, at 6:54 pm, Kim Yong-hyun known as Roh Sang-won, the previous head of the Protection Intelligence Command, on a safe line and spoke with him for 94 seconds. The president’s exact actions, usually categorised info, had been being relayed to Roh, who was a civilian on the time following his dishonorable discharge from the army.
Police Commissioner Basic Cho Ji-ho and Kim Bong-sik, who was chief of police for Seoul on the time, headed to the parking zone of the Korea Banking Institute in Seoul’s Samcheong neighborhood, the place they met Park Chong-jun and headed to the presidential safehouse close by.
Park Chong-jun opened the door and went in first. In a room on the primary flooring had been the president and the protection minister. It was 7:15 pm, and the No. 1 and No. 2 gamers within the revolt had been sitting down with the chief of police, with 130,000 officers below his command, and the top of Seoul’s public security.
Yoon instructed Cho and Kim Bong-sik, “Very long time no see.” After that, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs within the Republic of Korea.
Yoon continued, mentioning matters resembling “impeachment,” “particular counsel probes,” “finances agendas” and “pro-North Korea leftists.” After saying that “martial regulation forces will likely be deployed to varied places, together with the Nationwide Meeting,” he ordered the police to “preserve order and cooperate with the martial regulation troops as soon as they’re deployed to the Nationwide Meeting.”
As Yoon delivered this impassioned speech, Kim Yong-hyun handed a sheet of paper to Cho and Kim Bong-sik. The primary line on Cho’s sheet learn, “2200 Nationwide Meeting, 2300 Democratic Occasion headquarters.” The names of over 10 establishments, together with the polling company Flower and the broadcaster MBC, and numerous occasions had been additionally listed.
Yoon phoned Justice Minister Park Sung-jae as he left the safehouse at 7:41 pm. Park stated that Yoon instructed him to chorus from “asking questions” and “are available.” When Yoon returned to his workplace, he ordered Kim Jeong-hwan, a senior official within the presidential workplace, to summon Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Minister of the Inside and Security Lee Sang-min, Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, Minister of International Affairs Cho Tae-yul, Minister of Unification Kim Yung-ho and Director Cho Tae-yong of the Nationwide Intelligence Service.
Han and Cho Tae-yul every acquired private calls from Yoon himself. Han was instructed round 8 pm to “come to the presidential workplace with out telling anybody,” whereas Cho Tae-yul was knowledgeable to “come on to Yongsan. Don’t even inform your spouse the place you’re going.”
This troupe of presidency officers convened on the presidential workplace at round 9 pm. When Cho Tae-yul and Cho Tae-yong lastly arrived on the presidential workplace, they had been greeted by Yoon, Han, Kim Yong-hyun, Lee, Park and Kim Yung-ho.
“I intend to declare martial regulation,” Yoon instructed Cho Tae-yul. Cho Tae-yul tried to dissuade Yoon by saying, “This can ship shocks that may undo all of the success South Korea has been capable of obtain over the previous 70 years.”
“You suppose that that is motivated by my very own egocentric wants? Why do you suppose that somebody as law-abiding as I might want to resort to this? If we let the pro-North Korea leftists run amok, your entire nation will go to hell. We gained’t be capable of do something by way of the financial system or diplomacy,” Yoon seethed.
“Nobody is aware of about this,” he added. “Even my very own spouse is oblivious. My chief of workers and the senior secretaries are at the hours of darkness, too. I really feel like my spouse goes to be extraordinarily cross with me.”
Yoon then ushered everybody, excluding Kim Yong-hyun, from the workplace into the presidential workplace’s reception room.
Yoon stepped out of the workplace into the reception room to talk to Han privately. This was when Han knowledgeable Yoon {that a} Cupboard assembly should be held. Yoon ordered Kim Jeong-hwan to summon members of the Cupboard. The quorum for the Cupboard assembly (11 members) was reached at 10:16 pm, when Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Younger-ju arrived on the reception room.
Kim Yong-hyun, the protection minister, handed out the martial regulation decree to the Cupboard members. “If we modify this plan now, all the things will likely be ruined. I’ve already knowledgeable the press of my plan to deal with the nation and I’m being bombarded with inquiries. That is my choice as president. We deliberated on the Cupboard assembly and for the reason that announcement should be made, I’m going,” Yoon stated earlier than leaving for the briefing room. This occurred a mere two minutes after the Cupboard assembly was known as to order.
At 10:27 pm, Yoon formally declared martial regulation in a televised deal with to the nation. Upon returning to the reception room, Yoon reportedly requested to be served “one thing to drink,” earlier than casually remarking that “declaring martial regulation is not any massive deal. It was a chunk of cake.”
After declaring army rule, Yoon started to busy himself with calls to varied officers. At 10:53 pm, he known as Hong Jang-won, the primary deputy director of the Nationwide Intelligence Service, to say, “You noticed the published the place I declared martial regulation, proper? That is the possibility to deal with all of them. Clear home.”
Yoon additionally oversaw the operations of the troopers and law enforcement officials deployed to the Nationwide Meeting.
Yoon known as Cho Ji-ho, the chief of nationwide police, at 11:15 pm, saying, “Arrest the entire lawmakers getting into the Nationwide Meeting for violating the martial regulation decree.”
This name was adopted up with one to Military Chief of Workers Park An-su, the appointed martial regulation commander, at 11:17 pm, by which Yoon stated, “Inform Cho Ji-ho of the specifics of the martial regulation edict.”
Yoon known as Cho Ji-ho a complete of six occasions following the martial regulation declaration, all of which had been to order Cho to arrest all of the lawmakers getting into the Nationwide Meeting constructing.
At 11:22 pm, Yoon known as Folks Energy Occasion flooring chief Choo Kyung-ho, apologizing for not informing him of the declaration prematurely, as “martial regulation requires the utmost secrecy.”
At 11:36 pm, Yoon known as Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, who headed the Military Particular Warfare Command, as Kwak was setting off for the Nationwide Meeting to examine the progress of the army forces. On the identical time, lawmakers had been racing to the Nationwide Meeting constructing to carry a vote to demand that martial regulation be lifted.
That is when Yoon started to really feel anxious, calling Kwak at 12:31 am on Dec. 4, saying, “I don’t suppose that they’ve sufficient lawmakers to fulfill the quorum [for a vote]. Hurry up and enter the Nationwide Meeting and pull out everybody who’s in the primary chamber.”
Yoon additionally known as Lee Jin-woo, the chief of the Capital Protection Command, 3 times between 12:32 am and 12:34 am, saying that he ought to “head over to the chamber and have 4 troopers carry every lawmaker out.” Lee was instructed to “break down the doorways,” and to “hearth weapons if needed” earlier than dragging the lawmakers out.
The Nationwide Meeting handed the decision demanding an finish to martial regulation at 1:03 am. That was not sufficient to cease Yoon, nevertheless. Yoon as soon as once more known as Lee Jin-woo at 1:13 am to say, “Apparently, 190 lawmakers had been within the chamber. That being stated, we are able to’t verify that there have been really 190 of them. Even when the declaration has been lifted, it doesn’t matter; I can declare martial regulation a second or perhaps a third time. Hold going along with your operation.”
Yoon promptly moved to the underground conflict room of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, situated on the third subbasement degree of the Joint Chiefs’ headquarters. The conflict room is an area that aids the chairperson of the Joint Chiefs, the highest-ranking active-duty army officer within the nation, when making important choices.
Yoon, who entered the conflict room at 1:17 am, berated Kim Yong-hyun, saying, “We must always have despatched 1,000 troops to the Nationwide Meeting. What are you going to do now?” A army official current within the room witnessed Yoon bellow, “I instructed you to prioritize arresting the lawmakers,” accuse Kim of “making excuses,” and declare, “Even when the Nationwide Meeting has determined to elevate the declaration, I can re-declare it at daybreak.”
Yoon’s nationwide safety adviser Shin Received-sik and chief of workers Chung Jin-suk deemed it unwise for the president to stay within the Joint Chiefs command room, the place army operations are directed, after martial regulation was lifted, taking him out of the room at 1:49 am.
Yoon lastly introduced the lifting of martial regulation at 4:27 am after returning to his workplace. At 4:30 am, the martial regulation declaration was formally lifted following a Cupboard assembly chaired by Han Duck-soo.
Yoon returned to his official residence at 5 am, marking the tip of a protracted day that kicked off with a late begin.
By Jung Hwan-bong, workers reporter
Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]
