The National Assembly has launched an investigation of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law enactment on Dec. 3, after a commander testified he received direct orders from the president to detain lawmakers.

Speaker Woo Won-shik told reporters Wednesday that the commander’s testimony given at the Assembly national defense committee a day prior suggested Yoon tried to block lawmakers from gathering to prevent them from exercising their constitutional duties.

“If the testimony is true, it means that the president was attempting to stop the National Assembly from voting to lift martial law -- that is, to make it impossible for the parliament to exercise its power by force,” the Assembly speaker said.

Woo said on the night of martial law that police blocked access to the Assembly and armed soldiers broke into the building where the plenary chamber is located, in an apparent bid to hinder lawmakers from convening a vote. “I myself, the speaker, had to climb over a wall to get inside,” he said.

He said the Assembly would form a task force to carry out an investigation, which would be on top of other investigations handled by law enforcement, such as police and prosecutors.

“The National Assembly was directly targeted by martial law imposed by the president. It is only appropriate that the parliament conduct its own investigation.”

Special Warfare Commander Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, whose troops were deployed to the Assembly shortly after Yoon declared martial law, told lawmakers Tuesday that the president ordered him to “drag lawmakers out.”

According to Kwak, Yoon told the commander to “break open the door and drag them out” before enough lawmakers arrived at the chamber to reach the quorum required to vote down the martial law declaration.

Rep. Park Beom-kye, with whom Kwak filed for whistleblower protections, said the commander also knew of plans for a “state of emergency” at least two days before the declaration of martial law. This contradicts claims from other military leaders, including Gen. Park An-su, whom Yoon appointed as martial law commander, saying they did not know about the martial law plans until the president’s TV address.

Kwak said, “They are all saying they found out from TV. It looks like they came up with it beforehand.”

According to National Assembly Secretary-General Kim Min-ki, some 280 troops entered the parliament grounds in the late hours of Dec. 3. They left following a bipartisan vote to overturn martial law.