A former military commander has testified again that an order was relayed to him from former President Yoon Suk Yeol to break down the doors of the National Assembly, with an axe if necessary, and drag out the lawmakers when martial law was in force on the night of December 3. 

Brig. Gen. Lee Sang-hyun, a former commander of the First Special Forces Airborne Brigade, delivered the testimony on Monday during the sixth hearing in Yoon’s criminal insurrection trial at the Seoul Central District Court. 

Lee previously made similar statements during the fifth hearing, saying he’d received Yoon’s order to drag out lawmakers through Kwak Jong-keun, then the head of the Army Special Warfare Command.

During cross-examination, Yoon’s lawyer asked Lee whether he ever actually heard the word “president,” noting his use of the term “higher authorities” in media interviews.

Lee said Kwak told him he had held a videoconference with “higher authorities” and that when Lee asked who had given the order, Kwak replied that it was the president. 

Yoon directly rebutted Lee’s testimony, saying it’s uncertain whether Kwak received the order during the videoconference and that the term “higher authorities” in the military refers to the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the defense ministry, not the president.