Cabinet members bow their headsin apology at a plenary legislativesession addressing PresidentYoon Suk Yeol’s imposition ofmartial law at the NationalAssembly on Dec. 11. (Yonhap)

Public accounts from Cabinet members at the National Assembly have exposed a troubling picture of President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 martial law declaration: One of a clandestine and illegitimate decision that bypassed nearly the entire Cabinet, silenced its opposition, and violated due process.

The hours before Yoon's late-night announcement were chaotic, with most Cabinet members kept in the dark. Below is a look at the time leading up to and after the declaration, based on their accounts.

A brief, five-minute Cabinet meeting took place between 10:17 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. in the presidential reception room, apparently without due process or any official record, according to data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety submitted by the presidential office.

Yoon, who came into the meeting but did not even sit down, abruptly left the meeting. At 10:23 p.m., he began reading his statement -- without the presence of Cabinet members or reporters. The live televised address culminated in the declaration of martial law at around 10:28 p.m.

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-Kyung vividly recounted that some of those present at the five-minute Cabinet meeting on Dec. 3 were completely blindsided, leaving them powerless to intervene or stop him from making it public.

"(The president) briefly entered the room and then left. After he left, those who were seated were taken aback and asked, 'Where did he go?' At that moment, someone played a broadcast on their phone, and his voice came through. That's what happened," Song said during the Dec. 11 plenary session of the Assembly, recalling that the Cabinet meeting never formally concluded -- there was no declaration signaling its end.

"It wasn't even possible to grab hold of him or physically intervene in any way. I am truly sorry for this."

Describing Yoon's martial law declaration as a "completely unimaginable event," Song added, "I never agreed to it. There may have been incompetence in failing to stop it, and helplessness in the face of it, but I was never complicit."

After witnessing armed soldiers storming the National Assembly on television, smashing windows as they forced their way in, all Cabinet ministers submitted their collective resignations to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Dec. 4.

"I was personally stunned by the announcement as well. The last time martial law was imposed in Korea was 1979, when I joined the Foreign Ministry," Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said during a press briefing for foreign media in Seoul on Wednesday.

"Never did I imagine that it would be declared again 45 years later, in the Korea of 2024."

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul speaks at a rare joint news conference with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, addressing foreign media in Seoul on Wednesday. (Joint Press Corps via Yonhap)

Cabinet meeting to buy time

Of the 10 attending Cabinet members besides Yoon, most learned of the plan only upon arriving at the presidential office -- many after 8:30 p.m. and some just before the announcement.

Prime Minister Han stated that he, too, first learned of the situation at around 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 3, upon reaching the presidential office.

Han has repeatedly explained that the reason he convened the Cabinet meeting was not to address procedural flaws in the martial law declaration but to unite Cabinet members to block Yoon from declaring martial law.

"I used the Cabinet meeting to buy as much time as possible to stop the martial law declaration," Han said during the Assembly's Dec. 13 plenary session.

"There was no systematic or procedural framework for convening the Cabinet meeting," Han said. "I believe the Cabinet meeting itself had significant procedural and substantive flaws."

Based on accounts from ministers, it appears that Han and only five others were initially called to Yoon's office: Foreign Minister Cho, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, Justice Minister Park Sung-jae along with now former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, and now former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong was also present from an early stage, despite not being a Cabinet member.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok said on Dec. 13 that he arrived at the presidential office at 9:55 p.m. on that day, saying, "I didn’t know why I was summoned, so I went in casual clothes."

Song, who was at the same event as Lee Sang-min until around 5 p.m. that day, along with Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong and Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups Oh Young-ju, were later called individually to the Cabinet meeting.

Others, including Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, who also serves as deputy prime minister for social affairs, were left entirely out of the loop on the Cabinet meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok During speaks during an emergency session of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Among those present in the first batch, Han, Foreign Minister Cho, and Kim Yung-ho have said they expressed their opposition to Yoon's plans, although the intensity of their opposition seemed to vary from person to person.

However, Lee has suggested that he did not oppose the martial law declaration, saying "As for whether I agreed or disagreed, it would not be appropriate for me to say" during the Dec. 5 session of the Assembly’s Public Administration and Safety Committee.

Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, now suspended after the Dec. 12 impeachment vote, answered, "I said a lot of things" when asked if he was in favor of or opposed Yoon’s marital law decision at the session of the Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Dec. 9.

During a Dec. 11 Assembly session, when asked which Cabinet members had explicitly opposed martial law in front of President Yoon on Dec. 3, only two raised their hands -- just Foreign Minister Cho and Deputy Prime Minister Choi.

A passerby watches a live broadcast of President Yoon Suk Yeol declaring emergency martial law on Dec. 3 at Seoul Station. (Yonhap)

Yoon said couldn't reverse

Foreign Minister Cho testified that he arrived at the presidential office around 8:50 p.m. and was ushered into Yoon's workspace at around 9 p.m. and saw four or five Cabinet members already gathered.

"As soon as I sat down, the president told me he intended to declare martial law and handed me a single sheet of paper. On it were brief instructions outlining the actions the foreign minister was expected to take," Cho said during the Dec. 13 session,

"I was so shocked that I can now only remember the term 'overseas foreign missions.' ... It wasn't very detailed -- just a few lines of text -- so I can't recall much. I didn't even take it with me."

Cho stated that after he arrived, he led the conversation with Yoon, repeatedly expressing his concerns and strong opposition.

"I repeatedly urged (the president) in earnest, in the presence of my fellow Cabinet members, that this was not only a diplomatic issue but a matter so serious it could destroy all the achievements South Korea has built over the past 70 years in an instant, and I asked for reconsideration," Cho continued to say. "But (Yoon) firmly refused to back down from his insistence that this was a decision based on his own judgment."

Cho said he followed Yoon as he made his way to deliver the public announcement, saying, "I got up from my seat and pleaded, saying 'I sincerely ask you to reconsider.'"

"However, (Yoon) said it was an urgent situation where everything had already been concluded, so it was no longer possible to reverse it, and then proceeded to make the announcement."

Cho explained he had immediately decided to tender his resignation after failing to stop Yoon and this is why he was unable to answer calls from US Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg that night.

"From the moment martial law was declared until it was lifted, I spent several hours grappling with a deep inner conflict between my personal belief in resigning as Foreign Minister and my sense of duty to fulfill the responsibilities of the position."

Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul on Dec. 4 after South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 3 declared martial law, accusing the opposition of being "anti-state forces" and saying he was acting to protect the country from "threats" posed by the North. (FP)

Top economic official blindsided

Deputy Prime Minister Choi said he had less than 30 minutes' notice before Yoon's televised announcement.

Speaking at the Dec. 11 Assembly session, Choi said, "At the time, I joined very late and was unaware of the content, so I didn’t even know it was a meeting. However, after listening to what was said, I was very shocked. It was an unexpected situation."

"I thought it was a highly misguided decision. As the minister overseeing the economy, I anticipated it would have a significant and negative impact on our international credibility and our economy, so I clearly expressed strong opposition."

Choi also confessed, "As I was leaving, I made the decision to submit my resignation, but here I am now" during the Dec. 13 Assembly session.

Choi disclosed that Yoon's aide handed him a paper after Yoon's martial law announcement. However, Choi did not check the paper because he rushed into holding a meeting to take measures to stabilize the market but later realized that the paper outlined the actions the economic and finance minister was required to take in the aftermath of the martial law declaration.

"As far as I remember, the only sentence I recall is, 'In an emergency martial law situation, make sure to secure financial resources, such as liquidity.'"

During Tuesday’s session of the Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, Deputy Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon In-dae said on the note Choi received, "I don’t remember exactly, but I recall it mentioning 'contingency funds related to martial law' and 'securing related financial resources.'"

Choi revealed that he disregarded the note because, by the time he left Yoon's office, he had already resolved to resign, saying "I had no interest in the materials I was handed at the time and no intention of even looking at them."

"It felt like measures based on the premise of martial law, so I dismissed it, thinking, 'Let’s ignore this,' and set it aside," Choi added.

The Constitutional Court in central Seoul on Tuesday.The court will decide whether to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol. from office or reinstate him. (Yonhap)

Legitimacy of decree

Against that backdrop, it is unsurprising that most Cabinet members were neither briefed on the contents of Martial Law Decree No. 1, which took effect as of 11 p.m., nor involved in its approval through signature -- an essential step required before the decree’s enactment.

On Dec. 9, the justice minister revealed that he had not signed the martial law decree. Similarly, the health minister stated on Dec. 11 that he was unaware that the decree included punitive measures against trainee doctors and other medical professionals who failed to return to work within 48 hours.

Han expressed their belief that an investigation in the future would uncover the reasons why and how martial law was declared despite Cabinet members voicing their opposition to it.

"However, in the end, we failed to stop it, and I feel a deep sense of guilt and profound regret," Han said on Dec. 11. "I am truly suffering a great deal."

Foreign Minister Cho, however, dismissed criticism over the fact that not a single Cabinet member stormed out of the meeting.

"I hold that those who fell short in fulfilling their responsibilities forfeit the right to speak," Cho said on Dec. 13. "At the time, storming out was the easiest choice. However, I want to make it clear that I believed it to be the most cowardly choice, which is why I stayed until the end in an effort to dissuade them."