(Bloomberg) -- The head of South Korea’s Army Special Forces said he defied an order from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s former defense chief to drag lawmakers out of National Assembly’s main building to enforce a martial law decree earlier this week.
Kwak Jong-keun, who instructed troops to march to parliament on Tuesday night after receiving orders from Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, made the comments Friday on a Youtube channel run by an opposition lawmaker.
“I judged that it was clearly illegal to drag out the lawmakers, and troops who carry out the task would naturally be held legally responsible later,” Kwak said, referring to the instruction he received from Kim, who resigned earlier this week.
“I knew it would be insubordination, but I did not carry out the task,” Kwak added. “I instructed troops not to enter the assembly.”
Kwak apologized to citizens and his troops for following the martial law decree, saying he would reject any similar order in the future.
Yoon stunned South Korea and the world with his decision to impose martial law, which he revoked within hours after parliament unanimously rejected the move. Opposition lawmakers have since moved a motion to impeach Yoon, a vote expected to take place by Saturday.
The 707th Special Mission Unit, which executed Tuesday night’s order, is primarily deployed for counter-terrorism operations and operates under Kwak.
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