YouTuber and broadcaster Kim Ou-joon testifies as a witness during a special inquiry into martial law-related allegations at a hearing at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Broadcaster and YouTuber Kim Ou-joon, known to have been on the list of potential detainees during the short-lived martial law on Dec. 3 and 4, said Friday that he received a tip about an order to assassinate Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party.

He said that the first piece of information he received was about an "assassination squad being mobilized," which he subsequently reported to Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

Speaking as a witness at the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee hearing, Kim said that Rep. Kim was the first to publicly mention the assassination squad during an MBC radio appearance.

Kim claimed he was the source of that tip. He recalled that when he told Rep. Kim, the lawmaker was initially skeptical but later confirmed its validity after a few hours.

"The information I am about to share has not been fully verified," Kim said, before detailing allegations regarding plans reportedly tied to martial law. "There was a plan within the martial law forces to assassinate Han Dong-hoon while he was being detained and transported."

Additionally, he shared information about other alleged plans: one involved staging an attack on the transport units holding figures like Cho Kuk, former leader of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party, Yang Jung-chul, former chief of the Institute for Democracy, and Kim Ou-joon himself, to make it appear as though they were being rescued.

According to Kim, the scheme also involved burying North Korean military uniforms at specific locations, which would later be "discovered" and used to frame North Korea as the perpetrator.

Kim further explained, "The assassination of Han Dong-hoon, as the leader of the ruling party, would have been easy to frame as an act by North Korea. The alleged purpose of staging a rescue operation for Cho Kuk, Yang Jung-chul and myself was to inflict maximum damage on the escort units, allowing it to be falsely claimed that North Korea was attempting to rescue its so-called sympathizers."

However, Kim clarified that he had not heard any information suggesting a plan to assassinate Cho, Yang or himself.

"Under normal circumstances, I would have dismissed such tips as absurd, but after hearing Yoon's address yesterday, I decided to make this information public," Kim said.

He said that he also received information about a potential biochemical terrorist attack and passed it along to Rep. Kim, adding that the decision to disclose that information lies with the lawmaker.

When pressed about the source of the tips, Kim only said that they came from an allied nation with an embassy in Korea.

In response, the DPK said they are currently verifying the information shared by Kim during the hearing and will provide further explanations if necessary.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.