SEOUL - The South Korean military placed a substantially larger purchase of body bags than normal around the time when now-suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Dec 3, a local media outlet and a lawmaker said, fueling suspicions on whether the military anticipated a large number of potential deaths.
MBC reported on the evening of March 18 that the Army had 4,940 body bags in December 2024, quoting data from Representative Choo Mi-ae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.
The Army had on hand 1,826 body bags in November of that year and the number stayed below 2,000 all year prior to December, which was when Mr Yoon - currently on trial for impeachment and criminal charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power - attempted to impose military rule on the country.
It was also reported that a military official from the Army’s II Corp made an inquiry in August to a civilian company that manufactures cardboard coffins about potentially ordering 1,000 such temporary coffins.
The official in question asked how long the order would take, and asked about the situation, “what if 3,000 people died, for instance”.
The actual purchase of the cardboard coffins was never made.
The Army said that the extra body bags were residual orders made before but were just delivered in December, “in accordance with the military’s five-year plan made in 2022”.
If the plan refers to the 2023-2027 plan announced in December 2022, it was to spend 331.4 trillion won (S$303.8 billion) in that time span for defense-related expenses, including acquiring antiballistic missile capacities against North Korea’s ballistic missiles.
No details about increasing the stockpile of body bags were included in information about the 2023-2027 plan, nor were there any in public announcements about other long-term military plans.
South Korea’s military normally has fewer than 100 deaths per year, according to the MBC report.
Regarding the inquiry about the 1,000 cardboard coffins, the II Corp said there had been a discussion within the military about potential battle deaths during the South Korea-US joint Ulchi-Freedom Guardian drills in 2024. The plan was supposedly discontinued due to practical reasons.
Suspicions grow over whom body bags were intended for
Despite the military’s explanations, Ms Choo wrote on Facebook page early on March 18 that the over 3,000 body bags the military acquired are proof that Mr Yoon and those involved in his martial law plot had been meticulously preparing for numerous fatalities under the planned military rule.
“The insurrection forces weren’t just dreaming about (doing) evil. They thoroughly prepared for it ... This shows their horrific murderous intent,” she wrote.
The military data submitted to the opposition politician, which she also shared on Facebook, showed the number of body bags in the Army’s stockpile in December of the past four years: 1,106 body bags in 2021, 1,565 in 2022 and 1,890 in 2023. The Army also told her that such orders are made once a year.
It is unclear if the extra 3,116 body bags it ordered in December last year are related to Mr Yoon’s martial law plan, or if the bags were acquired right before his martial law declaration.
But some fear it may be linked to the plan devised by retired Army Major-General Noh Sang-won, ex-commander of the Korean Defense Intelligence Command, the military’s intelligence organisation, who is accused of conspiring with Yoon in the martial law plot. Notes found in his home contain plans for the “collection” of numerous individuals.
The notes in question specified “targets to collect”, including outspoken critics from civic groups and labor unions, former and incumbent justices, along with liberal politicians like Democratic Party Chair Representative Lee Jae-myung and former president Moon Jae-in, as well as minor conservative New Reform Party Representative Lee Jun-seok, who were categorised as “A-level collection targets”.
On how they would be treated, the notes stated: “Accident, gas, explosion, sinking while on the way to the collection spot.”
Maj-Gen (Ret) Noh told the investigators that he wrote down the content of his notes based on what Mr Kim Yong-hyun -- the defence minister at the time of Mr Yoon’s martial law decree, who is also on trial for insurrection -- had told him, but refused to comment on exactly what was written there.
The National Forensic Service said last month it is impossible to definitively determine if Maj-Gen (Ret) Gen Noh himself had wrote the notes.
One of the “collection” spots mentioned in the notes is the village of Oeum-ri, Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, where a regiment of the II Corp. is located. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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