ExPresident

A special counsel team has determined former President Yoon Suk Yeol had prepared to declare martial law since late 2023, about a year before his failed bid in December 2024, officials said Monday.

Assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi said in a briefing that the team has determined that Yoon had made preparations for martial law since November 2023 after questioning former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Myung-soo.

The now-retired admiral is said to have told the team last month that Yoon asked him whether he would do anything he would order when they met on Nov. 29, 2023.

Yoon allegedly flew into a rage when he said he would follow them if they were just orders.

The team, led by special counsel Kwon Chang-young, has left open the possibility that Yoon’s alleged remarks may have been part of preliminary efforts to recruit top military officials for his martial law bid.

Kwon’s team earlier said Yoon appeared to be preparing for martial law since the first half of 2024, citing the outcome of its questioning of a military counterintelligence official.

Meanwhile, a separate special counsel team that ended its mandate late last year after a probe into Yoon had determined that martial law preparations took place before October 2023. The team cited a notebook belonging to a retired general convicted in connection with Yoon’s martial law bid.

A Seoul court, however, did not recognize the notebook as evidence during Yoon’s insurrection trial, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment over his failed martial law bid.

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Former President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to resume inter-Korean talks, calling it the “fastest and safest” way to overcome the current deadlock.

Moon made the call during a ceremony held at the National Assembly to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, a landmark agreement signed by Moon and Kim during their summit at the truce village of Panmunjom in April 2018.

“I ask you to return to the spirit of the April 27 Panmunjom summit and open the door to dialogue, and to work together with the Lee Jae Myung government to once again build a vision of ‘peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula’ and to live as a proud member of the international community,” Moon said. “Inter-Korean dialogue is the fastest and safest breakthrough to overcome the current deadlock.”

Moon also stressed that Pyongyang cannot be ensured “genuine security” by continuing to bolster its military capabilities and opting for isolation.

“Engaging in communication and expanding exchanges with the outside world, instead, is the most effective way to safeguard security,” he added.

On U.S.-North Korea relations, Moon expressed hope that Kim will take the “bold step of sitting down” with U.S. President Donald Trump as Trump earlier voiced his willingness to engage in talks with the North.

“I hope you use the improved inter-Korean ties as a bridge toward dialogue between North Korea and the U.S. as you did eight years ago,” he said.

Moon then urged Trump to demonstrate his decisiveness to help bring back the North to the negotiating table, saying the Korean Peninsula issue is a “key national interest” of the United States that must never be pushed down its list of priorities.

“There is no other way but to seek a diplomatic solution to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

Lee has offered to resume stalled talks with the North since taking office in June last year, but Pyongyang has rebuffed his peace overtures.

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