Before Questioning Began, Lee Requested to Speak, Saying He Had Prepared Remarks in South Korea

Former Capital Defense Command chief Lee Jin-woo testified in the appellate trial of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on insurrection charges, denying key allegations and challenging the credibility of a fellow officer's testimony, as the special counsel separately indicted that officer on charges of carrying out important duties in the insurrection. At a hearing held on the 13th at the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 12-1, presided over by Judge Lee Seung-chul, Lee appeared as a witness. Lee is the officer who, on Dec.

3, 2024, the day martial law was declared, received instructions from then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and dispatched Capital Defense Command troops to the National Assembly. Before questioning began, Lee requested to speak, saying he had prepared remarks. Throughout the seven-hour examination, he maintained that he had no prior knowledge of the martial law declaration and never ordered lawmakers to be dragged out, calling the indictment and the first-instance ruling in the insurrection case "false.

Prosecutors have said Lee received instructions from Yoon to "break down the doors of the National Assembly plenary chamber even if you have to fire guns" and "go to the plenary chamber and carry out four lawmakers one by one, which Lee then relayed to former Capt. Cho Sung-hyun. Lee, however, has consistently denied receiving such orders and has questioned the credibility of Cho's testimony, which contradicts the first-instance court's decision to sentence Yoon to life imprisonment. Lee also claimed he never heard the word "lawmakers" in his phone calls with Yoon, and that his adjutant, who was present at the time, did not hear it either.