The special counsel team assigned to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration found that Yoon was preparing for martial law before October 2023.

Announcing the final results of the 180-day investigation on Monday, special counsel Cho Eun-seok’s team said that Yoon had declared martial law to eliminate political opponents by force and to monopolize and maintain power.

The team believes that Yoon’s preparations for martial law began before October 2023.

Yoon had previously justified the declaration by citing repeated impeachment attempts, legislative obstruction and budget cuts by the then-opposition Democratic Party following the April 2024 general election.

Cho’s team, however, determined that he had mentioned emergency powers in the early days of his presidency and had begun behind-the-scenes preparations in 2023.

The investigation found that Yoon repeatedly mentioned his emergency presidential authority to those around him, including at a November 2022 dinner with the leaders of the People Power Party.

Investigators also secured testimony from a former senior official who said he had heard in July and August 2022 that Yoon was planning to declare martial law after the 2024 general election.