Top South Korean officer says was asked to help Yoon martial law bid

The commander of a crack South Korean special forces unit told a court Thursday he had been asked by a superior officer how to cut electricity to parliament during last year's failed martial law order by impeached president Yook Suk Yeol.

Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, who leads the country's elite 707th Special Mission Group, was in charge of troops attempting to stop lawmakers voting down Yoon's shock order.

He said his superior officer, former chief of the special warfare command General Kwak Jong-keun, also asked him if troops could fight their way into the parliament building using "tasers and blank ammo".

"I told him it was not feasible," Kim told a hearing at the constitutional court, which is deciding whether Yoon's impeachment should be upheld.

Yoon, who has been arrested and suspended from duties, sat stony-faced in court -- at points closing his eyes -- as he listened to the testimony.

He plunged democratic South Korea into political turmoil when he declared martial law on December 3, suspending civilian rule and sending soldiers to parliament.

Yoon said he implemented the decree "to safeguard constitutional order", labelling the opposition "anti-state elements" intent on insurrection.

The attempt lasted just six hours as the opposition-led parliament defied troops,

The special forces soldiers faced off against parliamentary staff who piled chairs and desks around entry points inside the assembly to stop them from entering.

Kim told the court Kwak asked him "is there any way to get in, such as by shutting down the power"?

He was told specifically he needed to get into parliament to prevent lawmakers from obtaining the quorum needed to vote down martial law.

"Rather than using an aggressive tone, (Kwak) almost implored me to find a way, saying the number had to be kept under 150," he said, referring to the parliamentary majority needed to vote down the decree.

"I answered, 'No, we can't. We can't go in any further'."

Earlier this week, Yoon suggested that even if he had ordered the arrest of MPs to prevent them from voting down his decree, it would not legally matter because it had not been carried out.

Yoon has also denied instructing top military commanders to "drag out" lawmakers from parliament.

But Kwak contradicted Yoon's claim at the Thursday hearing, saying the president had ordered him to bring out the MPs.

He is being held in detention but has been attending hearings at the Constitutional Court, which will determine whether his impeachment is upheld.

If the court upholds impeachment, a by-election must be held within 60 days to elect a new president.

As part of a separate criminal probe, Yoon was detained in mid-January on insurrection charges, becoming the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested.

© Agence France-Presse