- Colonel Kim claims troops were used by former defense minister
- Yoon survives impeachment vote, faces constitutional crisis
- Opposition plans to reintroduce impeachment motion against Yoon
SEOUL — The commander of South Korea’s special forces that stormed parliament last week after a martial law declaration said on Monday he was ordered to block lawmakers from entering the chamber to prevent a vote to lift the emergency measure.
Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, the commanding officer of the 707th Special Missions Group, told reporters he took all responsibility for his troops’ raid on parliament but said he was acting under orders from the defense minister.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is now a subject of a criminal investigation, declared martial law on December 3 only to rescind the order within hours after parliament met in defiance of a security cordon to vote it invalid.
RELATED: South Korean lawmakers call to impeach President Yoon after martial law rescinded | What South Korea’s short-lived martial law says about nation’s democracy and the autocratic tendencies of President Yoon
Yoon survived an impeachment vote in a opposition-led parliament on Saturday which plunged South Korea into a constitutional crisis.
Yoon said ahead of the vote he was entrusting his fate to the ruling party, but he did not offer to resign.
ALSO READ: Factbox: South Korean President Yoon dogged by scandals before botched martial law | South Korea President Yoon declares martial law
Kim said his unit landed on the grounds of parliament with orders to cordon off the main building to prevent lawmakers from entering but was met with legislative staff members inside who blocked their entrance.
“We were all victims who were used by the former defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun,” the commander told reporters outside the defense ministry in Seoul.
“The members of the Group are not guilty. Their only guilt is that they followed the orders of their commander,” he said, fighting back tears.
The former defense minister was arrested on Sunday over his role in declaring martial law and ordering the deployment of troops to parliament.
The leader of Yoon’s People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, said on Sunday that Yoon would be excluded from foreign and other state affairs, and the party and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would manage government affairs.
National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said it was unconstitutional to delegate presidential authority unless the president is impeached.
The main opposition Democratic Party, which led the failed impeachment motion on Saturday, said it would raise the motion again.
— Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park, Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Jamie Freed and Stephen Coates