Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, former head of the Army Special Warfare Command, attends the National Defense Committee at the National Assembly on Dec. 12. (Yonhap)

Prosecutors on Sunday sought an arrest warrant for Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, the former head of the Army Special Warfare Command, for his role in the short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.

Kwak is accused of deploying military units to the National Assembly during the martial law declaration and allegedly colluding with President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to incite a riot aimed at subverting the Constitution. He is under charges of insurrection and abuse of power.

According to the prosecutor's special investigation headquarters, Kwak ordered the deployment of special units from the 1st and 3rd Airborne Special Forces Brigade and the 707 Special Mission Group to the National Assembly and National Election Commission. Prosecutors allege that Kwak acted on directives from President Yoon to disrupt a parliamentary vote aimed at nullifying the martial law declaration.

In testimony before the National Defense Committee, Kwak claimed that President Yoon had instructed him to “break into the Assembly and drag the lawmakers out.” He was also told not to let more than 150 lawmakers gather at the plenary chamber of the Assembly.

He also disclosed that on Dec. 1, before the imposition of martial law, he received classified instructions from Kim Yong-hyun via a secure phone line.

The special warfare commander said he regretted following orders to break into the Assembly, knowing they were problematic.

Kwak’s arrest warrant comes after he played a pivotal role as a whistleblower in exposing the events surrounding the martial law declaration. Initially summoned by prosecutors as a witness on Dec. 9, Kwak testified about the directives he received from senior officials, including President Yoon and Kim.

The warrant for Kwak’s arrest is part of a broader investigation into military involvement in the Dec. 3 martial law. On Dec. 13, prosecutors arrested former Capital Defense Command chief Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo and summoned other high-ranking military officials, including Brig. Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, Chief of Staff of the Special Warfare Command, and Brig. Gen. Kim Jeong-geun, commander of the 3rd Airborne Brigade, for questioning.

Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-soo was also interrogated as a suspect. The special investigation headquarters continues to expand its probe into the roles of military leaders in executing the martial law orders.

Prosecutors accuse Kwak and his coconspirators of attempting to dismantle constitutional governance by mobilizing armed forces to disrupt legislative processes.