The government on the 12th announced the results of the activities of the "Constitution-respecting government innovation task force (TF)" formed to investigate public officials involved in the emergency martial law. The TF said it requested disciplinary action for 89 public officials and referred 110 for investigation.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination announced the "Constitution-respecting government innovation TF investigation results" at 2 p.m. that day. Earlier, on Nov. 24 last year, the government set up the TF in 49 central administrative agencies, and the TF conducted its investigation through Jan. 16 this year.
Of the 110 total investigation referrals, the military accounted for 108, the most, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 2. Disciplinary requests totaled 89: ▲ military 48 ▲ police 22 ▲ Ministry of Foreign Affairs 3 ▲ Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) 3 ▲ the prime minister's office 2 ▲ Ministry of Justice 2 ▲ Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) 2 ▲ National Fire Agency 2 ▲ Korea Coast Guard 2 ▲ Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) 1. Cautions and warnings totaled 82: ▲ military 75 ▲ police 6 ▲ Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) 1.
An official at the Office for Government Policy Coordination said, "From the standpoint of defending the Constitution and the law, we confirmed that the executive branch failed to perform its role normally." The official added, "During the illegal martial law process, the structurally unconstitutional and unlawful orders relayed to each central administrative agency were not filtered out." The official continued, "Although some public officials showed resistance to the illegal martial law or excessive cooperation, among senior officials with decision-making authority the behavior observed was either 'prioritizing the execution of unconstitutional and unlawful orders' or 'watching and waiting.'"
According to the TF, after the declaration of martial law, about 3,600 military and police personnel cooperated in blocking and controlling constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly and the National Election Commission and in arresting key figures.
Emergency planning officials under the prime minister's office were found to have taken steps after the declaration of martial law to block access to government office buildings across all administrative agencies beyond their authority. In addition, the Office of National Security was said to have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs several times immediately after martial law to send the president's messages justifying martial law to major countries.
The TF found that the Korea Coast Guard engaged in voluntary excessive cooperation—by public officials without any authority—such as providing personnel support to the martial law command, issuing firearms, and opening detention facilities. Public officials in the department handling immigration affairs at the Ministry of Justice were instructed to report to work and stand by immediately after the declaration of martial law, and the department in charge of correctional administration was instructed to assess spare capacity at detention facilities.
An official at the Office for Government Policy Coordination said, "With this announcement, the government plans in principle to conclude the comprehensive inspections related to insurrection at the audit and inspection level, except for the cases being referred for investigation."