Court hears claim Yoon Suk-yeol threatened to shoot Han Dong-hoon during martial law discussion

At a Seoul court on 3 November, former President Yoon Suk-yeol was accused of threatening to kill former People Power Party representative Han Dong-hoon during a conversation around two months prior to declaring emergency martial law on 1 October 2024.

The allegation was made during ongoing proceedings at the Seoul Central District Court, where Yoon faces charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of authority.

Testimony was given by former Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun, who described a contentious exchange with Yoon during a gathering at the HanNam-dong presidential residence on Armed Forces Day.

According to Kwak’s testimony, Yoon allegedly said: “Bring them before me,” and “I’ll shoot them dead if I must,” referring to Han Dong-hoon and several other unnamed politicians.

Yoon’s legal team immediately denied the claims. His attorney, Yoo Jeong-hwa, stated, “Kwak’s claims are entirely untrue. On the contrary, former President Yoon repeatedly said, ‘Why would I arrest or order Han Dong-hoon to be brought here? Does that make sense?’”

Han Dong-hoon responded to the claims on 3 November, posting on Facebook: “I feel devastated and heartbroken.” He added that in early October 2024, he had urged Yoon, then the ruling party leader, to resolve the national medical crisis and to address public concern regarding unofficial channels linked to former First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

Han stated that he only learned of Yoon’s alleged remarks through Kwak’s courtroom testimony on 3 November.

During the hearing, Yoon defended the nature of the 1 October 2024 meeting, describing it as an informal dinner held to encourage military leaders.

He claimed it involved simple food, including “rolled omelettes and bacon,” prepared personally by him. “It wasn’t a formal dinner prepared by chefs… It wasn’t a setting for discussing state affairs,” Yoon said.

Yoon insisted the gathering was spontaneous. However, Kwak challenged that account, saying he had been contacted in advance by former Defence Counterintelligence Command head Yeo In-hyung and was told to attend in civilian attire. Kwak claimed this demonstrated that the meeting was prearranged and significant.

Kwak added that he had previously refrained from mentioning the alleged threat in interviews with prosecutors. “If former President Yoon hadn’t said those words, I wouldn’t have brought this up,” he testified. Yoon, notably, did not ask any follow-up questions after Kwak’s claims.

The testimony also touched upon another meeting held on 17 June 2024 at a government facility in Samcheong-dong. According to prosecutors, four generals were introduced to Yoon as “generals loyal to the president” by Kim Yong-hyun, then presidential security chief.

Prosecutors allege that following this meeting, Yoon detailed what became known as the “Dec. 3 martial law plan,” in which he was accused of unlawfully consolidating military authority. Yoon, however, described the meeting as a regular morale-boosting session.

During court questioning, Yoon asked Kwak whether he had heard any discussion of foreign affairs, security, or the economy during the Samcheong-dong meeting. Kwak responded, “I remember you linking all those issues to anti-state or pro-North Korean forces.”

The former president’s legal team subsequently issued a statement rejecting all of Kwak’s claims, particularly the alleged threat to Han. “None of us had heard this before, and former President Yoon never made such a remark. Given the inconsistencies and frequent changes in Kwak’s statements, his credibility is highly questionable,” they said.

Yoon’s trial continues as the court weighs the credibility of witness accounts against the broader evidence surrounding his conduct in the lead-up to the declaration of martial law in December 2024.

Note: All quotes cited from the courtroom are translated from Korean via AI generative tools and are not verbatim.