Jo Jiho: "Yoon Ordered the Arrest of All Lawmakers Climbing Over the National Assembly Wall"

[Financial News] Jo Jiho testified that during Martial Law on December 3, he received an order from former President Yoon Suk Yeol to "arrest all lawmakers climbing over the wall into the National Assembly."

According to the legal community on the 1st, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 33 (Presiding Judge Ryu Kyung-jin) held a trial for former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min on charges including major insurrection, and conducted witness examination of Commissioner General Jo.
On the stand, Jo Jiho testified that on December 3, the day Martial Law was declared, he had six secure phone conversations with former President Yoon Suk Yeol between 11:15 p.m. and 12:14 a.m. the following day.
Jo stated, "The first call was about controlling the National Assembly, and the subsequent calls concerned arrests following the issuance of the Proclamation."
He testified, "At first, former President Yoon told me to control the National Assembly, but I said it was not possible due to a lack of legal grounds. Later, as more lawmakers were climbing over the wall into the National Assembly, he said, 'Arrest them all.'"
In response to the special prosecutor’s question, "Did former President Yoon say, 'Entering the National Assembly is illegal, so arrest them'?" Jo replied, "I distinctly remember those words."

Jo Jiho testified that at 11:36 p.m. on the night Martial Law was declared, he spoke with former Minister Lee, but did not report the order to arrest lawmakers, as he had already decided not to carry it out.
He added, "If I had made concrete plans, I might have included it in my report. However, I felt 'this is not right,' so I had already decided not to implement the order when I received the minister's call."
He continued, "I did not mention the Proclamation. I only spoke about the general situation and did not provide any specific details about the Proclamation."
On the day Martial Law was declared, Jo Jiho reportedly received a one-page 'martial law scenario' on A4 paper from former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, listing deployment times and locations for the martial law troops, including '2200 National Assembly,' '2300 Democratic Party of Korea headquarters,' and 'public opinion poll flower.'
On the same day, Jo Jiho’s wife, Ms. Yoon, also appeared as a witness and testified about the situation at the time.
Ms. Yoon stated that she remembered seeing 'MBC' and 'flower' on the A4 document her husband brought home, and said, "I told him it would be better to tear it up, as I did not want him to be involved in so many matters."
Meanwhile, Jo Jiho was suspended from duty following impeachment by the National Assembly in December last year, but remains the Commissioner General.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter