The sixth hearing of President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial concluded after more than 8 hours. The hearing focused significantly on the questioning of former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun regarding what directives he received from President Yoon and what orders he gave to Army 707 Special Mission Director General Kim Hyun-tae.
The Constitutional Court opened the sixth hearing of President Yoon's impeachment trial at 10 a.m. on the 6th, conducting witness questioning of three individuals: Army 707 Special Mission Director General Kim Hyun-tae, former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun, and Chief Economic Secretary Park Choon-seob.
The day's hearing began with inquiries about the mission of the martial law forces when they entered the National Assembly during a state of emergency. Director General Kim, who led the scene at that time, claimed that his mission was to seal off the National Assembly and stated, "There was no order from former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun to arrest National Assembly members."
Director General Kim stated, "My mission was to secure and seal the National Assembly building and the congressional office building," emphasizing that the seal-off did not mean to prohibit access to the National Assembly, but was intended to defend the National Assembly from hostile forces.
The court pointed out that Director General Kim's statements contradicted previous testimonies. Judge Kim Hyung-doo asked, "The witness mentioned during the prosecutor's investigation that the orders from Commander Kwak Jong-keun were heard over the microphone and reached the subordinate units. Is it correct that you heard an order to drag out National Assembly members?" Director General Kim responded, "If that was testified, then my memory at that time is correct."
Director General Kim revealed that he received an order from former Commander Kwak stating, "It shouldn't exceed 150 people, but can't I go inside?" He added, "It wasn't in a strong tone, but rather as if he was pleading," and mentioned, "When asked if it could be done, I replied 'no' and ended the call." He also stated, "I didn't know what the meaning of 150 was at the time, and later learned it referred to the number of National Assembly members."
The inquiry of the day focused intensely on what directives former Commander Kwak received from President Yoon during the state of emergency. Former Commander Kwak had previously testified in a prosecutor's investigation that he received an order from President Yoon to bring out "the people" quickly.
During the hearing, former Commander Kwak said, "President Yoon told me over the phone to bring out 'the personnel' inside the National Assembly," adding, "Given that there were no operational personnel inside the main building, I understood it to mean to bring out the National Assembly members."
Judge Jeong Hyeong-sik asked former Commander Kwak, "Did President Yoon say to bring in 'the people' inside the National Assembly?" and Kwak responded, "I remember it as 'quickly break down the door of the National Assembly and drag out the personnel inside.'" When Judge Jeong asked, "Did he not refer to them as National Assembly members?" former Commander Kwak replied, "The term 'member' was not used in my statement to the police."
When Judge Jeong again asked, "Were they referred to as 'the personnel'?" former Commander Kwak affirmed, "He told me to drag out 'the personnel' inside."
The court noted that former Commander Kwak's testimony was changing. The court remarked, "The witness's statement initially stated 'people', but it is becoming inconsistent, leading to ongoing issues."
After the witness questioning of former Commander Kwak concluded, President Yoon gained the floor and said, "Hearing today's discussions, it seems they say it was 'personnel,' not 'members.'" He added, "I have never used the term 'personnel'; I simply use the term 'people', and if it were members, then they would be members."
President Yoon's side also raised questions about former Commander Kwak's testimony changing repeatedly, questioning the lack of orders to 'drag out.' The legal team for President Yoon stated, "The term 'people' changed to 'personnel,' and 'bring out' changed to 'drag out,'" and added, "Later, the instruction to 'break down the door and enter' was also introduced."
President Yoon exited after former Commander Kwak's witness questioning concluded. The legal team explained it was for 'a break', and afterward, the witness questioning of the deputy chief was conducted.
The next hearing date will be held on the 11th. The seventh hearing will include witness questioning of Minister Lee Sang-min, former National Intelligence Service Deputy Director Baek Jong-wook, National Security Office Director Shinwon, and Korea National Election Commission Secretary-General Kim Yong-bin.