Army Chief of Staff Park An-soo (former martial law commander) disclosed that he had a meeting with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyeon on the day of the ‘December 3 Martial Law’ declaration. On the 10th, during an urgent inquiry at the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, Park answered a question from Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek from the Democratic Party of Korea about his schedule on the afternoon of the martial law day, stating that there was a current issue discussion. When asked who the discussion was with, he confirmed, “With Minister (Kim Yong-hyeon).” When asked if the discussion was just between the two, he replied, “Yes.”
This is the first time Park has revealed that he met with Kim alone. Park’s main office is the Army Headquarters in Gyeryongdae, and his official schedule on December 3, the day martial law was declared, included two events: guiding field training at the 2nd Operations Command in the morning and presiding over a ceremony at the Korea Military Academy in Seoul at 2:30 pm.
Park had dinner with staff from his office that evening at the Army Club near the Ministry of Defense building, eating packed meals in his Seoul office. When Rep. Ahn questioned Park about why he claimed there was no specific schedule on December 3 during a previous committee inquiry on the 5th, Park stated that he could not recall well, as there were many schedules, including an inaugural speech at the military academy.
Park further explained that former Minister Kim instructed him to be in the minister’s waiting room at 9:40 pm after he reported current issues at 4 pm, which is why he did not immediately return to Gyeryongdae and had dinner in Seoul. Park also mentioned during the committee meeting on the 5th that he learned about the martial law declaration through President Yoon Seok-youl’s statement on TV and realized he had been appointed commander when Minister Kim mentioned it at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Command and Control Center.