First person prosecuted in South Korea martial law case

South Korea indicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun in the martial law case on December 3, accusing him of sedition.

Yonhap news agency reported on December 27 that prosecutors in South Korea have just indicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is being held on charges of rebellion related to his role in imposing martial law on December 3.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun

Mr. Kim was arrested on December 8. He is now accused of engaging in “fundamental” activities for a rebellion and abuse of power in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law.

This is the first indictment in the case. The special prosecutor handling the case detailed various allegations against Mr. Kim when announcing the indictment, alleging that he discussed martial law with Mr. Yoon earlier this year.

Prosecutors say Mr Yoon discussed the emergency martial law declaration with Mr Kim multiple times since at least March this year, and that preparations actually began last month.

According to the indictment, Mr. Kim mobilized soldiers from different units to the National Assembly during martial law to prevent lawmakers from voting to reject Mr. Yoon's decision to impose martial law.

As soldiers arrived at the National Assembly building, President Yoon called Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defense Command, and ordered him to "break down the door and drag" the lawmakers out.

Prosecutors also accused Kim of ordering Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, to arrest about a dozen people, including National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, then-ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung.

Mr. Kim is accused of sending soldiers to the offices of the National Election Commission, in an attempt to destroy the election watchdog's servers.

Prosecutors determined that Mr. Kim's actions were intended to overthrow the constitution and cause a riot, conditions for a sedition charge.

In a development related to Korean politics, Reuters on December 27 quoted Acting President of South Korea Choi Sang-Mok (who has just been assigned the task) declaring that he will do his best for the stability of the state.

He ordered the military to be on high alert, believing that there was a possibility that North Korea would seek provocations.

Mr. Choi, who is also the finance minister and deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, assumed the role of acting president on December 27, after the National Assembly voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.

Mr Han was impeached after saying he would not appoint Constitutional Court judges until the parties reached a political deal.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-dau-tien-bi-truy-to-trong-vu-ban-hanh-thiet-quan-luat-tai-han-quoc-185241227164610179.htm