Cho Kuk: “It feels like the court has given up on condemning the rebellion… Will the Democratic Party be dragged along?”
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Noh Seon-woong and Choi Joo-seong = The ruling and opposition parties showed mixed reactions to the court's acquittal of eight soldiers indicted on charges of engaging in important civil war duties on the 30th.
The ruling party protested, saying, "This is a ruling that granted immunity to those who participated in the civil war," but opposition parties, including the People Power Party, argued that "we must apologize to the victims for taking such harsh measures."
Jo Gye-won, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a written briefing that day, "The court denied the charges against eight soldiers who were indicted on charges of engaging in important civil war duties and for which the special prosecutor had sentenced them to five to seven years in prison. It is a ruling that protects acts of subversion of the Constitution while wearing legal uniforms and grants immunity to those who participated in the civil war."
Regarding former Army 2nd Armored Brigade Commander Koo Sam-hoe and former Ministry of National Defense Innovation Planning Director Bang Jeong-hwan, who attended the so-called 'hamburger meeting' before martial law on December 3, Spokesperson Cho pointed out, "The court defined them as nominal leaders and vice-leaders and accepted the excuse that they did not know the details."
Regarding the six people, including former 3rd Airborne Brigade commander Kim Jong-geun, who were put on trial on charges of sending troops into the National Assembly on the day of martial law, he added, "They set a precedent that even if they trampled on the constitutional order with guns and swords, they would avoid punishment as long as they gave an excuse for orders from superiors."
Cho Kuk Innovation Policy Research Institute director of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party also wrote on Facebook, “I even get the feeling that the court is giving up on condemning insurrection,” and “This is the reality of the blueprint that ‘Cho Hee-dae’s judiciary’ is drawing step by step.”
At the same time, he once again urged the Democratic Party to push for the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho, saying, "If acquittals and reduced sentences continue to occur in the remaining civil war-related trials, what will the Democratic Party do?"
On the other hand, the People Power Party called for an apology to the victims and a reexamination of disciplinary measures such as dismissal and dismissal, saying that the ruling clearly determined that they could not admit that they had the purpose of disrupting the national constitution.
Rep. Han Ki-ho, a former three-star general, held a press conference at the National Assembly with Rep. Kang Seon-young of the same party, the first woman to be a two-star general, and Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the New Reform Party, a member of the National Defense Committee, at the National Assembly and said, "The court's judgment was clear. It cannot be acknowledged that they had the purpose of disrupting the national constitution, and the special nature of the military and the hierarchical system must be taken into consideration."
He continued, "The more serious problem is that they were subject to severe punishment, including dismissal and dismissal, even before the conclusion of the criminal trial was reached," and asked, "Soldiers who devoted their lives to the country had to leave overnight with dishonor. Who is responsible for the pain and wounds that they and their families must have endured during this time?"
He added, "The parties who subjected them to harsh judicial treatment should apologize to the victims. The Ministry of National Defense should immediately reexamine the basis and appropriateness of disciplinary action against the soldiers who were found not guilty."
