Kim Kyu-ha, the Army's chief of staff, apologized to South Korea for the great disappointment and deep wound caused by the military's silence in the face of crisis following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration.

During a parliamentary audit on Friday, Kim said that as chief of the Army Strategic Missile Command at the time, he'd failed to stand up to acts of insurrection, through the mobilization of the military, that had put the country in danger.

Kim, however, stressed that the entire Army is not part of "insurrection forces," adding that the responsibility lies with select individuals who actively participated and others aligned with them.

The chief of staff then pledged to do his best to sort out and take measures against the participants who have yet to surface.

Lawmakers from the rival parties sitting on the National Assembly's Defense Committee, meanwhile, clashed over Kim's use of the term "insurrection," with the main opposition People Power Party saying the court has yet to rule on whether an insurrection was attempted through martial law.