Criminal trial of former defense minister commences

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Criminal trial of former defense minister commences

Published: 17 Mar. 2025, 18:51 Updated: 17 Mar. 2025, 19:59

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun speaks during President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 23. [CONSTITUTIONAL COURT]

In the first formal hearing of his criminal trial on Monday, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun acknowledged discussing plans with President Yoon Suk Yeol to declare martial law on Dec. 3 but denied that their conversations constituted a conspiracy to launch an insurrection.

Kim faces charges of insurrection and abuse of power for deploying the military to the National Assembly in an unsuccessful attempt to block lawmakers from voting to overturn Yoon’s decree.

In his testimony, the former defense minister denied “conspiring or plotting an illegal insurrection,” asserting that Yoon’s authority to declare martial law is “guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Prosecutors at the hearing argued that the Constitution only permits the president to impose martial law in cases of war or other national emergencies.

They further accused Kim of supporting Yoon’s martial law plan due to their shared opposition to the Democratic Party’s (DP) controversial legislation, proposed amendments to the Espionage Act, and repeated efforts to impeach senior government officials.

However, Kim rejected these accusations. “Prosecutors claim that I regard the DP as an anti-state force threatening national security, but I said no such thing,” he said.

Nevertheless, the former defense minister noted that Yoon’s declaration of martial law occurred in the context of “government paralysis and an economic crisis caused by [the DP’s] abuses [of power].”

Kim’s legal team also argued that the military’s blockade of the National Assembly under martial law was consistent with usual entry restrictions on the legislature.

The former defense minister claimed responsibility for drafting Yoon’s decree during the fourth hearing of the president’s impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court on Jan. 23.

The handwritten letter by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun that was released by his lawyer Lee Myung-kyu on March 1. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Earlier this month, Kim released a letter from jail calling for the “severe punishment” of three Constitutional Court justices.

Kim’s hearing marked the beginning of oral arguments in the trials of several senior officials accused of planning and participating in Yoon’s brief attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3.

On Monday, the Seoul Central District Court heard the first oral arguments in the cases of former Defense Intelligence Command (DIC) chief Noh Sang-won and former DIC Col. Kim Yong-gun, both of whom are accused of trying to carry out the martial law decree.

Their cases were consolidated with Kim’s following a court ruling on Feb. 27, which allows related cases to be heard together even when charges differ.

Former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won is handed over to prosecutors at the Seoul Seobu Police Precinct in Eunpyeong District, western Seoul, on Dec. 24. [YONHAP]

Noh faces charges of insurrection, abuse of power, and obstruction of rights, while Col. Kim is accused of aiding the alleged insurrection and obstructing rights. Both men are believed to have met with the former defense minister on Dec. 1 to discuss the execution of Yoon’s martial law decree.

The Seoul Central District Court is also set to hold its first formal hearing on Thursday for Cho Ji-ho, the suspended head of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

The two police officials are suspected of meeting with Yoon at the presidential safe house in Jongno District, central Seoul, just hours before martial law was declared. During that meeting, the president allegedly ordered Cho and Kim to deploy police to block access to the National Assembly.

Both men are also accused of agreeing to back the military’s plan to arrest prominent political figures, including Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.

At the eighth hearing of Yoon’s impeachment trial on Feb. 13, the former Seoul police chief denied that he was ordered to arrest politicians.

He also testified that the president had not instructed him to blockade the National Assembly, adding that he and Cho had made the decision to deploy police to prevent access to “maintain order” after discussing it among themselves.

Cho, for his part, declined to answer most questions from both the National Assembly and Yoon’s lawyers during the 10th impeachment hearing on Feb. 20.

He stated that he would “explain everything” during his criminal trial and “reveal the facts as they are and take responsibility where necessary.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]