Lawyers for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun speak in a press conference in southern Seoul on Dec. 26, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the deletion of a public curfew in an initial draft of the martial law decree issued earlier this month, a lawyer for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun claimed Thursday.
Kim’s lawyer, Yoo Seung-soo, said the former minister had originally written the draft that included the curfew but Yoon ordered Kim to delete it in his review, citing the decree’s focus on the National Assembly.
“To sound the alarm against the National Assembly as intended, the president ordered for its deletion to emphasize that the martial law is not targeted at ordinary citizens,” Yoo told reporters.
The decree issued shortly after Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 included a ban on all political activities, including those by the National Assembly, among other restrictions.
Kim, who resigned after the short-lived imposition of martial law, was placed under emergency arrest on Dec. 8 as a key suspect in the prosecution’s martial law-related probe.
(Yonhap)
