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Special Counsel Says It Found Signs of NIS Role in Yoon Martial Law Bid but Is Still Checking If Orders Were Followed
A special counsel team said Monday it uncovered indications that South Korea's National Intelligence Service issued specific instructions to support former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration. Assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi detailed orders given after the Dec. 3, 2024, announcement during a briefing in Gwacheon.
Jul 20, 3:05 AM·1m read1 source
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A special counsel team announced Monday that it has found signs of the National Intelligence Service's involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid. Assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi outlined the findings at a press briefing in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul.
Kim said Hong Jang-won, then first deputy director of the NIS, instructed officials to set up communication channels with the Defense Counterintelligence Command after Yoon declared martial law on Dec.
3, 2024. Other senior NIS officials directed the creation of contact points with the National Police Agency and ordered the dispatch of NIS personnel to the martial law command's joint investigation headquarters, she added. "(We) have identified circumstances indicating that the NIS made very specific instructions to implement martial law," Kim stated.
She said the team is now verifying whether those instructions were carried out. The special counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young began its work in February. Its mandate covers allegations tied to Yoon, the failed martial law effort, and his wife that earlier investigations did not fully address.
