Ex-capital defense commander denies he was ordered to arrest politicians

Feb 05, 2025, 07:00 am

		0
Lee Jin-woo, former head of the Capital Defense Command, speaks during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s fifth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 4, 2025./ Source: Constitutional Court

AsiaToday reporter Nam Mi-kyung

Former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo, who appeared as a witness at the impeachment trail of President Yoon Suk-yeol, refused to respond to most questions Tuesday from the National Assembly regarding President Yoon’s telephone instructions.

Lee, who appeared as a witness at the fifth hearing of President Yoon’s impeachment trial held at 2 p.m. on this day, said, “I myself am involved in a criminal case and a process is under way to determine whether to accept or deny the prosecution’s report,” adding, “I am aware it is a serious and important situation, but please understand that I am restricted considerably.”

This implies that, given his ongoing criminal trial and the procedure to determine whether to admit evidence, he is unable to respond actively as his testimony at the court might work against him.

President Yoon’s defense team also pointed out issues with the prosecution’s indictment. The defense team argued, “The indictment against former Commander Lee states that President Yoon called him for times, but the indictment against former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun states that the two had three calls,” claiming that “objective facts are being shaken.”

Lee denied most of the contents of the prosecution’s indictment. “I do not remember well at the time. The indictment does not reflect my story,” suggesting that the prosecution may have filled the indictment to fit their narrative based on facts from the media and other sources.”

Regarding the key issue of the fifth hearing, whether there were orders to arrest or detain politicians, Lee denied having received any arrest orders. The President Yoon’s legal team asked the former commandant, “Have you ever received any orders for arrest from the president?” Lee replied, “There was none,” and added, “I will not answer any further.”

Moreover, Lee stated, “There were no plans to go inside,” aligning with President Yoon’s previous statements. In the fourth hearing, Yoon claimed, “I never instructed anyone to pull out lawmakers or issue an arrest order.”

“I believe that declaring martial law was legal,” Lee said. “I understand that martial law is declared to restore normal administrative and judicial functions when they are not operating properly,” he added.

#Ex-capital defense commander #Lee Jin-woo #court