Yoon instructs police to “arrest all lawmakers, as it is a violation of martial law.”

The article from Seoul Economy reports that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol allegedly instructed the National Police Agency Commissioner, Jo Ji-ho, to arrest members of the National Assembly by declaring a state of emergency. Commissioner Jo reportedly refused to comply with these orders, considering them illegal, making a statement to that effect during an investigation by the National Investigation Headquarters’ special investigative team. According to Jo’s testimony, President Yoon called him six times, each time unilaterally instructing him to arrest the members, allegedly due to violations of martial law. Jo claims he considered these orders nonsensical and did not communicate them to his subordinates, effectively disregarding them on his own. This incident follows a similar claim made by Hong Jang-won, the First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, who stated that President Yoon issued similar directives following the emergency declaration.