The commander of South Korea's special forces, who entered parliament after declaring martial law last week, said he was instructed not to let lawmakers into the House of Representatives. According to him, this was to prevent the vote to cancel emergency measures.
Colonel Kim Hyun-tae told reporters that he took full responsibility for his troops' attack on the parliament but added that he acted on orders from the defense minister.
He said his unit entered the parliament grounds with orders to cordon off the main building to prevent lawmakers from entering but was met by legislative staff who blocked the entry of soldiers Minister Kim Yong-Hyun," the commander told reporters near the Ministry of Defense building in Seoul, "The members of the group are innocent. Their only sin is that they followed the orders of their commander.
To recall, South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol, currently under investigation, declared martial law on December 3 only to rescind the order hours after parliament met in defiance of the security cordon and invalidated it.
