Korean Lawmakers Clash Over Claims of Plans for A “Defacto Coup”
Here is the latest on the so called attempted coup that South Korea’s political left is claiming the Defense Security Command was planning to execute:
Rival parties on Wednesday exchanged barbs over a controversy surrounding the military intelligence unit’s documents written last year to prepare for the imposition of martial law to curb anti-government protests.
The war of words further intensified after the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) claimed Tuesday that the Defense Security Command (DSC) had also devised a similar plan in 2004, when former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached.
In March 2004, Roh was impeached by parliament on charges that included illegal electioneering, but he was reinstated by the top court about two months later.
The controversy was sparked as a civic group disclosed DSC documents last month that showed the unit had set up detailed plans for declaring martial law last year to curb civilians’ candlelight protests against then corruption-ridden President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached by parliament.
The group also claimed Monday that the DSC allegedly wiretapped phone conversations between Roh and his defense minister more than a decade ago and carried out illegal surveillance on millions of civilians.
President Moon Jae-in earlier ordered an independent probe into the DSC.
The LKP raised doubts about how the Center for Military Human Rights Korea could secure such classified documents.
Kim Sung-tae, the floor leader of the LKP, even said Tuesday that it is absurd that military reforms are being moved by a civic group, whose chief is struggling with his sexual identity.
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) condemned Kim’s remarks.
“The floor leader of the largest opposition party is misleading public sentiment. It is questionable that the LKP is trying to defend the DSC,” said Baek Hye-ryun, a spokeswoman at the party.
The ruling party regarded DSC documents as evidence for a de facto coup. But the LKP, which was the ruling party under Park’s government, claimed that they might have been just drawn up to prepare for emergency situations, not for rebellion.
“The DSC documents were kind of the risk management manual, not documents over an attempted rebellion or coup,” said Kim Byong-joon, the LKP’s interim leader. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but considering the DSC’s charter planning for the defense of the ruling government is part of their job description. If thousands of protesters showed up and stormed the Blue House to remove President Park if the Constitutional Court did not approve of her impeachment, should the DSC be expected to sit back and let it happen?
If so, that means South Korea’s left believes in mob rule and not a constitutional government.
It’s a question of interpretation, but even more it’s a basic misunderstanding of what military staffs are supposed to do. I once heard a left-ist Korean friend tell me, with bated breath, that in the early 2000s, the military had been plotting an attack on North Korea. I pointed out that this was most likely a contingency plan, and that literally hundreds of such scenarios were written and gamed, but he was convinced that the generals wanted to lead the country into war with the North.
the De Facto coup already happened, it was against the rightful president of South Korea, President Pak. Staged by the judiciary, engineered by the commies.