Another DSC document emerges containing more specific martial law plans

Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum discloses outlines of the “Specifics of the Provisional Plan,” which was part of the DSC’s “Wartime Martial Law and Joint Investigation Plan,” at the Blue House’s Chunchugwan (Spring and Autumn Pavilion) on July 20. (Kim Jung-hyo, staff photographer)

Evidence increasingly points to deliberate plans as opposed to preemptive measures

Another document has emerged from the South Korean military’s Defense Security Command (DSC) that details how martial law would have been instituted in the event that former president Park Geun-hye’s impeachment had been overturned by the Constitutional Court in Mar. 2017. Contradicting the explanation given by former Defense Minister Han Min-goo that the army had only “considered” the possibility of rioting, this incendiary document contains very specific measures for deploying armored vehicles and tanks to the Seoul neighborhoods of Gwanghwamun and Yeouido and controlling the National Assembly and the press.

During a briefing on July 20, Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum disclosed the broad strokes of the “Specifics of the Contingency Plan,” which was part of the “Wartime Martial Law and Joint Investigation Plan” composed by the DSC. This 67-page document consists of 21 points under the four major sections of a “phase-by-phase countermeasures,” “garrison decree,” “declaration of martial law” and “carrying out martial law.” The document essentially lays out a plan for carrying out the martial law decree that was reviewed in the document that Democratic Party lawmaker Rep. Lee Cheol-hui released on July 5.

“It says that the key to successfully instituting martial law is taking preemptive measures, such as swiftly declaring martial law while maintaining security and having martial law troops take control of crucial junctures,” Kim said when asked about the details of the document.

“The declarations of martial law and emergency-level martial law were already written [in the document]. It included a recommendation for the army chief of staff to be placed in command of the martial law forces rather than the chairman of the joint chiefs, as army regulations state, and the results of reviewing that recommendation,” Kim explained.

“What this says is completely different from the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s practical handbook for martial law, which contains the regulations for activating an ordinary martial law decree,” he added. This strongly suggests that these were not ordinary military guidelines about a hypothetical situation but a plan proposed on the assumption that it would be carried out.

Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum publicly revealed some of the contents of the “Specifics of the Contingency Plan,” part of the DSC’s “Wartime Martial Law and Joint Investigation Plan,” on July 20. In the event that the Constitutional Court had overturned the impeachment of then president Park Geun-hye, the plan contains specific measures for deploying armored vehicles and tanks to the Seoul neighborhoods of Gwanghwamun and Yeouido and controlling the National Assembly and the press. (Kim Jung-hyo, staff photographer)

Recruiting the NIS under martial law commander and censoring the press

The document also reportedly described measures for bringing the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to heel by having the president instruct the NIS director to obey the orders of the martial law commander and having the NIS second vice director assist the martial law commander. Attention was also given to the location of the martial law command and the question of setting up military tribunals under the martial law command. “It also included methods for managing and controlling other government ministries and for persuading military attachés in the country and foreign correspondents about the martial law decree,” Kim said.

The document also detailed ways to exert control over the press. “Censors were supposed to be assigned to 22 broadcasters (including KBS, CBS and YTN), 26 newspapers (including the Chosun Ilbo and the Maeil Business Newspaper) and eight wire services and news websites (including Yonhap News) to control reporting. There was also a plan to shut down internet portals and social media and to prevent rumors from spreading,” Kim said.

Plans to arrest National Assembly members who interfered

The drafters even came up with a way to “arrest National Assembly members” to prevent the National Assembly from resolving to end martial law. “There was a plan to prevent the National Assembly from reaching a quorum on a resolution to end martial law by booking lawmakers as if they had been caught red-handed and by working with the Liberty Korea Party to have its lawmakers boycott the resolution,” Kim said.

The specific method of arresting lawmakers would be for the martial law command to announce a ban on assemblies and demonstrations and anti-government political activity and issue a warning that anyone who violated that ban would be dealt with sternly through arrests and investigations. After that, lawmakers who attended illegal demonstrations or joined political opposition to the government would be arrested.

A concrete plan to deploy troops to suppress the expected demonstrations was also disclosed. Along with the “forces charged with carrying out the martial law mission,” armored vehicles and tanks would be swiftly deployed to the Gwanghwamun and Yeouido neighborhoods of Seoul, where the candlelit rallies were focused. Kim also said the “Specifics of the Contingency Plan” contained a recommendation to declare emergency-level martial law around the country and the text of various proclamations and declarations related to the emergency-level martial law, but he did not disclose the details.

“The reason we made this document public is because we thought it was right to swiftly inform the public given their high degree of interest and the importance of this matter. We expect that the illegality of this document, the question of whether anyone was planning to carry it out and the unit that distributed it will be investigated by the Defense Ministry’s special team of investigators according to the law and principle,” Kim said.

By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter

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