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Military unit was preparing for martial law in first half of 2024, says special counsel team

Published: 04 May. 2026, 15:49 Updated: 04 May. 2026, 16:01

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi speaks during a briefing at her team's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on May 4. [NEWS1]

A military unit was making preparations to implement martial law in the first half of 2024, according to one of the special counsel teams investigating allegations against former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The team’s findings, delivered by assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi in a briefing on Monday, suggest operations were being planned well before Yoon’s brief imposition of emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.

One piece of evidence of this planning is a notebook belonging to former Defense Intelligence Command chief Noh Sang-won, which contained details on military leadership appointments that were later reflected in personnel changes carried out in October 2023, according to Kim.

Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly less than two weeks after declaring martial law. He was formally removed from office by a Constitutional Court ruling in April last year.

Both he and Noh, among others, are undergoing trial on charges of attempting to mount an insurrection against the country’s constitutional order.

Separately, Kim said the special counsel team had disciplined an investigator assigned to the case for posting personal reflections about the investigation on social media.

In a now-deleted post, the investigator uploaded an image of a stamped interrogation record along with a photo of his appointment certificate and wrote, “From an investigator’s perspective, building experience through investigations will maximize expertise in criminal cases.”

The investigator was given a one-month pay reduction, the counsel said, citing concerns over maintaining confidentiality and discipline during an ongoing high-profile inquiry.

“The post, which included photos and personal reflections on the investigation, was reported in the media,” Kim said. “After convening a disciplinary committee, conducting a fact-finding inquiry and hearing the investigator’s explanation, we decided to impose disciplinary measures.”

The special counsel team, which includes Kim, is tasked with investigating allegations against Yoon that have not been covered by previous special counsels.

BY JUNG SI-NAE, MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]