Facebook capture of lawyer Yoo Jeong-hwa.

Lawyer Yoo Jeong-hwa stated, "The claim by former commander Gwak Jong-geun that 'former President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered him to shoot Han Dong-hoon to death' is entirely untrue and a one-sided assertion."

Regarding Gwak's assertion in court on the 3rd, Yoo confirmed, "This is the first time anyone, including the legal team, has heard this, and former President Yoon never said such a thing."

He further emphasized, "On the contrary, when we directly asked former President Yoon about Han Dong-hoon during a previous visit, he clearly stated multiple times, 'Why would I order Han Dong-hoon to be arrested or brought in? Does that make any sense?'"

He revealed the truth, saying, "Considering the lack of consistency and the frequent changes in Commander Gwak's statements, it is highly questionable whether this claim is true. In fact, even today, he showed an ambiguous attitude, first saying he 'heard about Han Dong-hoon' and then immediately changing his words, making it unclear if he heard it directly himself."

Lawyer Yoo urged not to be swayed by Gwak's one-sided claims, stating, "Those who are astute in political calculations will likely stir up more commotion over this, but I believe they understand better than anyone that a trial is not over until it is over."

Previously, Gwak claimed during the continuation of former President Yoon's trial at the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25 (Presiding Judge Ji Gwi-yeon) that two months before martial law, in October of last year, former President Yoon pointed to former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and others, saying, "Bring them in. I will shoot them to death if necessary."

In response, former President Yoon's legal team immediately and strongly refuted the claim, stating, "He never said such a thing."

Gwak mentioned a dinner with former President Yoon at the presidential residence after the Armed Forces Day event on October 1st, claiming, "Former President Yoon named Han Dong-hoon and some politicians and told me to bring them to him. He said he would shoot them to death if necessary."

Former President Yoon questioned with apparent disbelief, "Didn't you start pouring soju and makgeolli shots shortly after arriving after 8 p.m.? You drank a lot. Isn't it the soldiers' birthday that day? So we invited many people because it felt wrong to just let it pass. When a few people couldn't make it, I asked them to come to the dining room in the residential area instead of the banquet hall. It wasn't a situation to discuss the state of affairs there, was it?"

Gwak then responded, "Since you say so, I will now reveal what I have not been able to say until now. I did not speak of this to the prosecution until now, only about Han Dong-hoon. If former President Yoon had not said that, I would not have said this," showing behavior that a former Army general could not understand and drawing strong backlash.

According to domestic media reports, former President Yoon chuckled awkwardly upon hearing Gwak's testimony and did not ask further questions. However, former President Yoon's side rebuked, "He is saying many new things. It is incomprehensible why he did not say this during the investigative agency's questioning."

Former President Yoon's legal team issued a statement immediately after Gwak's testimony, refuting the claim: "The said remark is entirely untrue. This is the first time anyone, including the legal team, has heard this, and former President Yoon never said such a thing."

They added, "Conversely, when the lawyers directly asked, former President Yoon clearly stated multiple times, 'Why would I order Han Dong-hoon to be arrested or brought in? Does that make any sense?'"

They continued, "Given the lack of consistency and the frequent changes in former commander Gwak's statements, it is highly questionable whether the said content is true," pointing to the credibility of the testimony.

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and Gwak. Photo: Joint Press Corps.

Editorial Department