(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-seop = Former high-ranking military generals who participated in the December 3 martial law emergency were sentenced to prison.
On the 21st, Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 26 (Chief Judge Lee Hyun-kyung) sentenced Yeo Yeo-hyeong, former commander of the Armed Forces Counterintelligence Command, to 18 years in prison, who was indicted on charges of engaging in important civil war duties and abusing power and obstructing the exercise of rights. Lee Jin-woo, former commander of the Armed Forces Capital Defense Command, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Cho Eun-seok, the special prosecutor for the civil war, had sought 30 years in prison for each of them.
Former Armed Forces Intelligence Commander Moon Sang-ho was sentenced to 12 years in prison, former Army Chief of Staff Park An-soo, who was the martial law commander at the time of the incident, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and former Army Special Operations Commander Kwak Jong-geun was sentenced to 9 years in prison.
The court found them all guilty of engaging in important civil war missions by deploying troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission and organizing and operating a group to arrest politicians during the martial law on December 3.
In this process, most of them were found guilty of abusing their authority and forcing subordinates to do work that was not their duty.
Former Commander Yeo was admitted to the charge of organizing a 'joint arrest team for anti-state forces' immediately after martial law was declared and attempting to arrest about 10 politicians, including Lee Jae-myeong, then leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.
The charge of dispatching counterintelligence troops to the National Election Commission and others after receiving instructions from former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun to take control of the National Election Commission and secure computerized data, and the charge of perjury regarding the infiltration of the National Election Commission by martial law forces during the impeachment trial of former President Yoon Seok-yeol at the Constitutional Court and military court trial were also found to be true.
The court pointed out that he had actively conspired in advance with former President Yoon Seok-yeol and others, based on former Commander Yeo's memo containing information about the joint arrest of politicians and the operation of the investigation team dedicated to election fraud.
He also pointed out that he had met with former President Yoon and former Minister Kim Yong-hyun several times in advance and recognized that the purpose of declaring martial law was illegal.
The court said, “The defendant wrote a detailed memo in advance containing how to carry out a civil war that would disable the power of constitutional institutions, such as arresting key figures such as members of the National Assembly,” and added, “It can only be seen that he conspired with Yoon Seok-yeol and Kim Yong-hyun in the process.”
Former commander Lee Jin-woo was found guilty of ordering the dispatch of defense forces to the National Assembly when martial law was declared.
The court pointed out that just before the National Assembly passed the motion to lift martial law, he received instructions from former President Yoon to "enter the plenary session and carry one person out of four," and "pull out the lawmakers," and relayed these instructions to his unit members.
Former commander Lee claimed, “The target that was ordered to be taken out was not a member of the National Assembly but a terrorist force whose name is unknown,” but the court did not accept it based on the statements of unit members.
Former Prosecutor General Park An-soo was found guilty of participating in the civil war, including issuing an unconstitutional and illegal proclamation as a martial law commander and ordering the National Police Agency to block the National Assembly.
The court pointed out that former President Park, at least vaguely, recognized the fact that former President Yoon was trying to make it impossible for the National Assembly to exercise its power by issuing an unconstitutional and illegal proclamation.
He protested that he was forced to act by his superiors, but this was not accepted. This is because, as the Chief of Staff of the Army, who can acquire military information, he did not separately suggest this to his superiors even though he recognized that it was not an emergency at the time.
However, he was found not guilty on the charge of abuse of power by dispatching troops from the Special Forces Command and Defense Defense Command to the National Assembly to do work that was not their duty.
This is because former President Park An-soo was either unaware that troops were heading to the National Assembly or was only informed of the deployment situation after the fact.
Former Commander Moon Sang-ho was found guilty on charges of deploying troops to the National Election Commission after conspiring in advance with former Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Intelligence Command Commander Noh Sang-won, and former Commander Kwak Jong-geun was found guilty on charges of dispatching special forces troops to the National Assembly, the Democratic Party of Korea, and the National Election Commission's Gwacheon Building.
In revealing the reason for the sentencing, the court criticized the defendants for "abandoning the military's political neutrality and using military power for the political interests of a specific force."
Regarding former commander Yeo Yeo-hyeong, he said, "He played a leading role in the execution of the civil war and made the military and police do things that were not their duty, so he must be severely punished."
He continued, "The defendant's instructions were not actually implemented, but this was due to the unit members' passive performance of their duties and the citizens' resistance," and added, "We do not consider this as an advantageous situation."
Regarding former commander Lee Jin-woo, he reprimanded him for "summoning a counter-terrorism unit before the declaration of martial law and deploying it immediately after the declaration to participate in an act of rebellion that blocked the National Assembly. In the process, he ordered his subordinates to pull out the National Assembly members."
Regarding former commander Kwak Jong-geun, he scolded him, saying, "I had dinner meetings with Yoon Seok-yeol and Kim Yong-hyun several times and heard about the purpose of the declaration of martial law and recognized its illegality. On the day of the declaration, I infiltrated special forces troops into the National Assembly, etc.," and "He played the leading role in preventing the decision to lift martial law, so severe punishment is inevitable."
He continued, "However, after making a declaration of conscience at the beginning of the investigation, he submitted a self-description, and has since made consistent statements during the Yoon Seok-yeol impeachment case and the trial on charges of treason," and added, "The fact that the relevant law stipulates this as a necessary reason for reduction was considered an advantageous situation."
Immediately after the sentencing on this day, the special prosecutor's team welcomed, "This ruling confirms the responsibility of the military's key commanders, who are supposed to protect the people and protect the Constitution, for abandoning their responsibilities. This appears to have been an important evaluation of the political neutrality of the military and the damage to the public's trust in the military."
He continued, “However, we express regret that the sentences for each defendant did not meet our expectations,” and added, “We plan to carefully review the verdict to decide whether to appeal and the scope of the appeal.”
The civic group Military Human Rights Center held a press conference that day and criticized, "This is an unconvincing sentence that reduces the special prosecutor's sentence by nearly half, and the gap between the severity of the crime acknowledged by the court and the actual sentence is excessive."
