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Defense Security Command

The Defense Security Command (DSC) drew up plans for the mobilization of 4,800 armed soldiers, including special forces and members of the 707th Special Mission Battalion, against predicting “rioting” in Mar. 2018 if the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye was overturned, a document indicates.

Plans were also made for the declaration of martial law and the positioning of around 200 tanks and 550 armored vehicles in downtown Seoul.

In a press conference on the morning of July 6 at Lee Han-yeol Memorial Hall in Seoul’s Mapo district, the Center for Military Human Rights, Korea (MHRCK) presented a document drafted by the DSC in May 2017 under the title “Wartime Martial Law and Joint Action Plan.”

“The DSC was absolutely convinced the impeachment trial would be dismissed and planned to use force to suppress the candlelight demonstrations,” MHRCK explained.

“These were plans for a ‘pro-government coup’ planned by the DSC under the direction of the Blue House Office of National Security,” the group said.

According to the “Wartime Martial Law and Joint Investigation Plan” document released by the center, the DSC drew up plans for “forces to execute martial law-related duties,” dividing the Seoul area into “key facilities” (the Blue House, Constitutional Court, Central Government Complex, Ministry of National Defense, and Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters) and “anticipated demonstration sites” (Gwanghwamun and Yeouido) where armed troops would be sent from three brigades with the 30th Division and three companies with the 20th Division.

Also drawing attention was the listing of the 707th Special Mission Battalion – the so-called “special forces among special forces,” who perform anti-terrorism operations and other special missions – as a standby force for use in the event of emergency.

Based on the peacetime standards for mechanized infantry divisions, MHRCK estimated that this would have been a massive military operation with an additional 200 tanks, 550 armored vehicles, 4,800 armed troops, and 1,400 special forces troops in central Seoul.

A document drafted by the DSC in May 2017 under the title “Wartime Martial Law and Joint Investigation Plan

The DSC also appears to have suggested the president exercise her veto powers in the event of National Assembly legislation to abolish the Garrison Act, and drawn up detailed plans to control the media. To achieve this, the DSC made preparations to create a 48-member martial command reporting censorship team and nine-member joint investigation headquarters media countermeasures team – for a total staff of 57 – while establishing a “baseless rumor response team” within the Korea Communications Commission to shut down social media accounts belonging to demonstrators and agitators.

Called the “military’s own National Intelligence Service” for its anti-espionage and security duties, the DSC may have been acting on direct orders from the Blue House Office of National Security by drawing up a martial law plan in defiance of the military’s chain of command, some are alleging. MHRCK explained that the document in question “was written by [current DSC chief of staff] Major General So Kang-won, who was first commissioner for the DSC at the time in May 2017, but the person ordering its drafting is believed to have been then Office of National Security director Kim Kwan-jin.”

Some of the language in the DSC document suggests coordination with the Blue House. Commenting on the document’s reference to the martial law command “being set up in the B-1 ‘Munseogo’ bunker and consisting of two offices and eight sections,” Major General Im Tae-hoon explained, “Martial law commands typically use the bunker (B-2) where the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters [military leadership] is located.”

“The very fact that the martial law command would have been set up in the B-1 Munseogo bunker where the President is stationed in a wartime situation is evidence that the martial law plan was examined under President Park’s protection,” Im said.

After a legal examination, MHRCK plans to pursue complaints against all individuals involved in the document, including Kim Kwan-jin (a graduate of the 28th class of the Korea Military Academy), former Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo (31st class), former DSC chief Cho Hyun-chun (38th class), and former Army Chief of Staff Jang Joon-kyu (36th class). A candlelight demonstration is also being held at 7 pm on July 7 at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Sewol Square to demand rigorous investigation and punishments.

“When the military disregards the chain of command and keeps even the Joint Chiefs of Staff out of the loop in drawing up plans for martial law, that’s not a typical martial law declaration – it’s a pro-government coup,” said Im.

“We’re going to need to quickly investigate those involved in the rebellion conspiracy,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense officially stated on July 6 that it plans to make a determination on whether to turn over the investigation after its prosecutors’ team examined the circumstances of the “Wartime Martial Law and Joint Investigation Plan” document’s drafting, the date, its appropriateness, and related laws.

By Hwang Geum-bi, staff reporter

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