5-Minute Cabinet Meeting for Martial Law? South Korea’s Shocking Lack of Transparency

On Thursday, it was confirmed that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a brief Cabinet meeting on December 3 to declare martial law, which lasted only 5 minutes. Prime Minister Han Duck Soo, who attended the meeting, admitted that there were “procedural and substantial flaws” in the meeting leading up to the martial law declaration. It was also revealed that no official records of the meeting were kept.

On Thursday, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety disclosed the results of its request to the Presidential Office for materials related to the declaration and lifting of martial law. According to the Ministry, the Cabinet meeting convened to fulfill the procedural requirements for declaring martial law took place from 10:17 p.m. to 10:22 p.m. on December 3. This means the discussions regarding such a significant decision lasted only five minutes. Article 89, Clause 5 of the South Korean Constitution requires the President to hold a Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law. After the meeting concluded, President Yoon moved directly to the press briefing room and began a special address at 10:23 p.m., where he announced the declaration of martial law.

The meeting was attended by 11 Cabinet members, including President Yoon, Prime Minister Han Duck Soo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang Mok, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae Yul, Minister of Unification Kim Young Ho, Minister of Justice Park Sung Jae, former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong Hyun, former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang Min, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi Ryeong, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu Hong, and Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Young Joo.

Typically, summaries of attendees’ remarks and verbatim records from Cabinet meetings are published on the Ministry’s website. However, there are no minutes at all for this martial law declaration meeting. According to the response released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Presidential Office stated that it does not possess any records of the Cabinet meeting’s discussions from December 3. Articles 10 and 11 of the Cabinet Meeting Regulations stipulate that when a Cabinet meeting is held, the Secretary, an official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, presides over the meeting and prepares the minutes. However, Kim Han Soo, the Chief Protocol Officer, stated at the National Assembly’s Interior and Safety Committee meeting on December 5, “I did not attend the Cabinet meeting that night concerning martial law.” On the same day, former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang Min said, “We will expedite the release of the meeting records after completing them based on related materials received from the Presidential Office.”

During an emergency inquiry at the National Assembly the day before, Prime Minister Han Duck Soo was asked, “Is a Cabinet meeting without records truly a Cabinet meeting?” He responded, “There were procedural and substantial flaws.” He explained that basic procedural requirements, such as opening and closing declarations, were not met and that the name of the martial law commander, which should have been reviewed during the meeting under martial law regulations, was not even mentioned. Han added, “Around 8:40 p.m. on December 3, President Yoon informed me of his intention to declare martial law. I opposed the idea and proposed convening a Cabinet meeting to discuss the matter with the Cabinet members and persuade them to oppose it.”

When asked by Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Gun Young whether the meeting adhered to the rules of record-keeping, stenography, and procedural declarations, Han answered, “I do not believe it did.” In response to the statement, “This meeting for declaring martial law was not a proper Cabinet meeting, was it?” Han replied, “I agree.” He added, “The meeting was not conducted like an official Cabinet meeting, and I was unaware of who would serve as the martial law commander.” Martial law regulations stipulate that the President appoints the commander after a recommendation from the Minister of National Defense and deliberation in a Cabinet meeting, but this procedure was also not followed.

Meanwhile, Song Mi Ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, who attended the pre-martial law Cabinet meeting, stated at the National Assembly the day before, “I arrived at the meeting room between 10:10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., but the meeting did not start, and we were in a state of waiting. I asked the person next to me what the meeting was about, and all I heard was the word ‘martial law.’ I was shocked and said, ‘This makes no sense’ and ‘This must be stopped,’ but the President was not present then.” Song added that President Yoon’s first words at the meeting were, “I have not consulted anyone.” She also noted, “To my memory, the President only stayed for about 2 to 3 minutes.”