 |
|
Former DSC commander Oh Hyun-chun
|
Visit occurred amid plans to illegally proclaim martial law
Cho Hyun-chun, former commander of the Defense Security Command (DSC), visited the Blue House while he was in the middle of preparing for an illegal proclamation of martial law, the Hankyoreh has confirmed. On top of that, the visit occurred on the very day that former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was being impeached in the National Assembly. Indeed, it was after that point that discussion about a martial law proclamation began inside the military. This is further kindling suspicions that the DSC commander had an inappropriate meeting with Park while her authority was suspended by the impeachment and that the two discussed concrete ways to respond to the candlelit rallies, including proclaiming martial law. Working in tandem with the Hankyoreh on Aug. 21, Rep. Park Ju-min, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party, spoke with current and former senior officials in the military and the government who confirmed that Cho Hyun-chun had visited the Blue House, where Park was staying, on Dec. 9, 2016, which is the day that the National Assembly passed a motion of impeachment against Park. As a result of the vote for impeachment, Park was suspended from her duties as president. “On that day, [Cho Hyun-chun] went to the Blue House after receiving a call from one of Park’s doorknocker triumvirate. My understanding is that he met Park in her residence,” said a senior official in the military who is well-informed about these matters. Precedent suggests that the DSC commander visits the Blue House only when scheduled for a one-on-one meeting with the president. Absolutely no reason for DSC commander to meet an impeached president Considering the roles and functions of the DSC – namely, counterespionage, military intelligence and thwarting plots to overthrow the government – military sources agree that the DSC commander would have had absolutely no reason to meet with Park while she was stripped of her powers as commander in chief. “If Cho had been trying to set up a contingency plan for some kind of emergency situation after the motion of impeachment was passed, the person he should’ve met was not Park but acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn, and their meeting ought to have been about movements by North Korea, counterespionage or rebellion. This meeting diverged from the DSC’s role both in terms of the person met and the matters discussed. After Cho visited the Blue House, a discussion about martial law began not only at the DSC but also at the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other organizations,” a military source said. The Hankyoreh also discovered that after his visit to the Blue House, Cho paid a visit to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss martial law and that the DSC set up a secret task force related to martial law. The DSC commander’s visit to the Blue House buttresses the argument that the DSC was trying to discuss measures to actualize the “martial law proclamation” that was mentioned in various documents after early Nov. 2016, including “Considerations for Each Phase of the Current Situation.” DSC prepared for martial law before National Assembly’s motion of impeachment Documents from this time state that “discussing the necessity of martial law and the question of establishing a joint investigation headquarters with the Blue House and the Defense Ministry” was “an important measure to be taken by the commander in regard to the martial law situation” before declaring martial law. This makes it likely that even before the National Assembly passed the motion of impeachment, the DSC was in contact with the Blue House about preparing for martial law, including working on the establishment of a joint investigation headquarters inside the DSC related to martial law. When asked about Cho’s various actions, including his visit to the Blue House, a member of the civilian-military joint team that is currently investigating the DSC’s illegal martial law documents was “unable to answer about matters that are under investigation.” The joint team is investigating not only Cho but also then Defense Minister Han Min-goo and Army Chief of Staff Jang Jun-gyu on charges of mutiny. The deadline for the joint team’s investigation has been extended from Aug. 20 to Sept. 18. By Ha Eo-young, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
