A former military commander testified in court that former President Yoon Suk Yeol talked about shooting then-ruling People Power Party(PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon and other politicians last October, weeks before his failed December 3 martial law bid.

On the stand during Yoon's insurrection trial on Monday, the Army's former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun said he recalled the former president mentioning Han during a dinner gathering on October 1, 2024.

Having previously claimed that Yoon had discussed exercising "emergency powers" at the same dinner, Kwak testified on Monday that he'd been unable to raise the politician-killing comments, even when questioned during the investigation.

Yoon, who personally questioned Kwak during the trial, said the dinner in question had marked Armed Forces Day and that there had been no opportunity to discuss the state of affairs at the time. However, after Kwak mentioned Yoon's alleged remark, the former president did not ask further questions.

The team investigating whether the former president attempted to stage an insurrection said it would verify the truth behind Kwak's testimony before responding.