Former Capital Defense Command chief Lee Jin-woo testified on the 15th that on Nov. 9 last year, a month before the Dec. 3 martial law, former President Yoon Suk-yeol, heavily intoxicated at a gathering at the official residence of the Minister of the Ministry of National Defense, said, "I always get betrayed," and mentioned former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.
Lee appeared as a witness at former President Yoon's trial on charges including leading an insurrection, held by the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25 (presiding judge Jee Kui-youn), and said this. Lee added, "The president is supposed to be the highest elder, but I thought people are the same after all."
Meanwhile, Lee testified that during the martial law, he neither heard nor relayed to his subordinates any instruction from former President Yoon to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly's plenary chamber. He said, "If someone tells you to shoot civilians or arrest lawmakers, what soldier would respond to that?"
Lee's testimony directly contradicts statements by Capital Defense Command officials previously given in the same court. Earlier, Army Capital Defense Command 1st Security Group commander Cho Sung-hyun said at an April hearing that he "received instructions from the former commander to enter the main building and drag lawmakers outside." Former Capital Defense Command aide Osang-bae also claimed in May that he overheard a call between the former commander and former President Yoon, saying, "They said to go into the plenary chamber and have four people carry one person out."
Lee corrected testimony he had given to prosecutors and in the military courts, saying his "memory was distorted." He had appeared as a witness at the Court-martial in May and said, "At first I didn't remember former President Yoon saying, 'Go to the plenary chamber and four of you can carry one person out,' but my aide reminded me and then I remembered." In particular, he said, "I also said there was an order to arrest them, but later I saw that was not the case at all," adding, "I must have imagined it after watching TV and undergoing questioning."