Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun says he was instructed to prepare for martial law nine days before former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared it on December 3, 2024.

At Yoon’s insurrection trial on Monday, Kim testified that the former president told him on the night of November 24, 2024, that misconduct by the party in opposition at the time was crossing the line and extraordinary countermeasures were called for.

The former minister said Yoon told him when they met again on December 1 that the country would not have a future if the situation were allowed to continue.

Kim said Yoon asked him to review what would be necessary before a declaration of martial law and that he briefed the former president on drafts he had prepared of a public address, a martial law decree and a declaration.

The former minister said he told Yoon that up to 60-thousand troops would need to be deployed during martial law, but that the former president instructed the deployment of several hundreds as his objective was to inform the public about the national crisis.

Kim also denied earlier claims that Yoon talked about declaring martial law for a second and third time after the National Assembly voted to revoke the decree, and that the former president chastised the military for not deploying enough troops to prevent the parliamentary vote.