Arrest of South Korea’s former spy chief sheds light on martial law conspiracy

South Korean authorities have arrested a retired military intelligence commander accused of orchestrating President Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law, casting light on a hidden web of loyalists allegedly entrusted with enforcing the short-lived self-coup.

Noh Sang-won, the former head of the secretive Defence Intelligence Command (DIC), was taken into custody on Wednesday after he refused to attend a court hearing assessing whether he might tamper with evidence or flee the country.

Opposition lawmakers have accused Noh of assisting Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun with drafting the December 3 martial law decree and planning its implementation, including the coercive measures needed to enforce it.

“The defence minister gathered close confidantes to impose martial law, and Noh appears to be one of the most important figures in that effort,” Choi Jin, head of the Institute for Presidential Leadership, told This Week in Asia on Thursday.

The decree called for halting the National Assembly’s operations and implementing press censorship, sparking allegations that Yoon was seeking to prolong his grip on power through the extraordinary measure.

However, his martial law bid quickly collapsed as lawmakers defied military roadblocks to hold an emergency vote, swiftly rejecting the decree and forcing Yoon to withdraw it within hours.