Deputy Minister Shinwon said on the 11th, "There was no concern that President Yoon Suk-yeol would declare a second or third state of emergency." Deputy Minister Shin testified this way while appearing as a witness at the seventh hearing of the impeachment trial of President Yoon held at the Constitutional Court.
Earlier, both the National Assembly and President Yoon's side requested Deputy Minister Shin as a witness for the impeachment trial, and the Constitutional Court accepted this.
On this day, a representative of the National Assembly asked Deputy Minister Shin, "After the National Assembly passed the motion to lift the state of emergency, did President Yoon have any concerns about a second or third state of emergency while remaining in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Decision Support Office and discussing with the Army Chief of Staff and the Minister of National Defense?"
In response, Deputy Minister Shin said, "There was no concern at all." He added, "At around 1:51 a.m. on December 4th, as the staff brought the president to the office (presidential office), I immediately followed in and said, 'Mr. President, please lift it quickly,' to which the president replied, 'Okay,' and lifted it." He continued, "I am quite sure that the president was not thinking of a second state of emergency."
Deputy Minister Shin's statement differs somewhat from the prosecution's claim in the indictment that President Yoon made remarks suggesting a second or third state of emergency. The prosecution stated in the indictment that after the National Assembly passed the motion to lift the state of emergency at around 1:03 a.m., President Yoon called former Colonel Jin-woo Lee and said, "I can declare the state of emergency twice or three times, so proceed continuously."
During the witness examination on this day, Deputy Minister Shin stated, "Between the end of March and the beginning of April 2024, when I was serving as the Minister of National Defense, during a meeting at the President's residence in Samcheong-dong with President Yoon, then Chief of the Security Service Yong-hyun Kim, National Intelligence Service Director Tae-yong Cho, and former Counterintelligence Chief Yeon-hyung Yeo, the president mentioned 'extraordinary measures.'" Regarding this remark, Deputy Minister Shin said, "I remember advising the president that, legally speaking, such measures are not a good solution for solving any difficulties."
A representative of the National Assembly asked, "Didn't then Director Tae-yong Cho of the National Intelligence Service also mention in the prosecution that it couldn't be accepted internationally and wouldn't be acceptable for our country's reputation?" In response, Deputy Minister Shin said, "I understand that the director said something in that regard." When the National Assembly representative asked, "What did former Counterintelligence Chief Yeon-hyung say?" Deputy Minister Shin replied, "Since the director and I said so (against), it seems the president changed the subject, and other people didn't have a chance to speak separately."
Deputy Minister Shin also mentioned that after dinner with President Yoon, he had a tea-drinking gathering with former Minister Yong-hyun Kim and former Counterintelligence Chief Yeon-hyung at the Minister of National Defense's residence. He recalled saying to former Minister Kim, "The way to serve the president well is to refrain from making such remarks (extraordinary measures)."