Former military commanders indicted for playing leading roles in deploying troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission during the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration received heavy prison terms in their first trial, including Yeo In-hyung, former commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and Lee Jin-woo, former commander of the Army's Capital Defense Command.
The 26th criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Hyun-kyung, sentenced Yeo to 18 years in prison and Lee to 15 years on the 21st, at a sentencing hearing on charges including playing a key role in an insurrection. Park An-su, former Army chief of staff, and Moon Sang-ho, former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, who were tried on the same charges, were sentenced to 10 years and 12 years respectively. Kwak Jong-keun, former commander of the Special Warfare Command and the only defendant to admit the charges, received nine years.
Yeo and the others were tried on charges of taking part in the martial law operation by sending troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission on Dec. 3, 2024. The court found that they were aware of the aim to subvert the constitutional order and had taken part in the uprising, citing evidence that they had attended several meals with former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun where they heard talk of emergency measures, and that handwritten memos each commander had prepared before the declaration largely matched what actually happened.
"The memo Yeo wrote himself included giving top priority to arresting violators of the martial law decree, a joint military-police investigation headquarters, and the arrest of 14 major political figures including lawmakers. This largely matches what was actually carried out after martial law was declared," the court said. "Some of the memos in particular appear to have been written after he met with Yoon and Kim and talked with them for several hours before the declaration." The court concluded that the prior meetings and the contents of the memos pointed to active advance planning of the martial law operation. Yeo was also found guilty of perjury for testifying that he had not ordered subordinates to secure the election commission's servers.
In Lee's case, the court found that he had received an order from Yoon to drag lawmakers out of the main chamber of the National Assembly. The court gave high credibility to testimony from Lee's aide-de-camp, who overheard the phone call, noting that given his relationship with Lee he had no reason to testify against him and that his account matched statements from soldiers in the relevant units. "Lee argues that those to be dragged out were unidentified individuals related to counterterrorism, but the defendant himself stated during the trial that this was not a North Korean infiltration or a counterterrorism situation," the court said. "In light of the various circumstances, it must be seen as an order to drag lawmakers or related personnel out of the main chamber."
The court also found that Park and Moon had been aware of the illegality at least in a contingent sense, and convicted them on charges of playing a key role in an insurrection over a second request to seal off the National Assembly and a plan to investigate alleged election fraud at the election commission. However, it acquitted Park on the charge of abuse of authority in connection with the deployment of Special Warfare Command and Capital Defense Command troops. That finding rested in part on the fact that Park first confirmed the martial law declaration through the media and that the Special Warfare Command and Capital Defense Command troops moved out before the decree was issued.
The court strongly criticized the defendants for abandoning their duty of political neutrality as an Army chief of staff and as commanders and using military force for a particular faction. It also cited as a sentencing factor the mental suffering endured by the soldiers and police officers mobilized under the defendants' unlawful orders, who came to be called insurrection sympathizers and faced trials.
The court found the culpability of Yeo and Lee particularly high given the extent of their advance involvement in the martial law operation. "Yeo took a leading role in the preparations, including writing detailed memos on martial law," the court said. "He played a leading part in carrying out the insurrection, including arresting and detaining major figures without warrants and seizing the election commission's servers." The court also emphasized that while some orders were not actually carried out, that was because unit members acted passively and had nothing to do with Yeo's intent.
Of Lee, the court said, "He prepared counterterrorism units and, once emergency martial law was declared, sent them to the National Assembly and took part in the insurrection by sealing off the building," adding that "although he gave the order to drag lawmakers out, he shifted the responsibility onto a subordinate." The court gave limited weight in his favor to the fact that he ordered Capital Defense Command troops to go unarmed and that no physical force was actually used.
In the cases of Park and Moon, the court found them responsible for taking part in the insurrection but weighed in their favor that they had not actively led the insurrectionary acts.
Of Kwak, who admitted all the charges, the court said he "played the most leading role in trying to block the National Assembly's resolution to lift emergency martial law," but added that "considering that he made a declaration of conscience and gave consistent testimony to the same effect in the impeachment case and various other trials, grounds for mandatory mitigation under the relevant law are recognized."
