“What is the crime?”... 'Guardian TF' Lee Jin-woo's trial also pointed out the indictment

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Bal-eum = In the first trial of Lee Jin-woo, former commander of the Army Capital Defense Command, who was indicted by the 2nd general special prosecutor Kwon Chang-young on charges of creating the 'Guardian Task Force (TF)', a counter-terrorism operation unit, and ordering the deployment of troops to the National Assembly during the emergency martial law, poor indictment was pointed out.

The purpose is that it is not clear what actions are at issue in the indictment.

On the afternoon of the 30th, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 38-2 (Chief Judge Jeong Soo-young, Choi Young-gak, and Jang Seong-jin) held the first trial preparation date for the case of former commander Lee's alleged interference with the exercise of his rights by abusing his power.

The court pointed out that much of the indictment is premised on facts and that the specific facts of the crime begin on page 9 out of 13 pages, requesting that the defendant's problematic conduct be supplemented in detail.

He continued, “I don’t think the creation of the guardian task force itself is a problem.”

The comprehensive special prosecutor's team explained, "The creation of the task force itself is considered the core of the abuse of power, but it was not reflected in the indictment," and "We created a document and used it to create the guardian task force."

However, the court said, "From my reading of the indictment, it does not read that way," and added, "In the criminal case, the defendant's actions were to have the National Assembly outline and plan documents drawn up, and it does not seem to take issue with the creation of the Guardian Task Force itself. It is not clear whether he was a person who did something he had no obligation to do due to its creation."

The court also expressed doubts about whether the other indictments, excluding the creation of the guardian task force, were subject to investigation under the Special Prosecutor's Office.

Former Commander Lee's side also argued for dismissal of the indictment, saying that Guardian TF was not an illegal organization preparing for martial law and was not subject to investigation under the Special Prosecutor's Office Act.

The court pointed out, “It is important whether the Guardian TF itself is an illegal organization prepared for martial law, and it is also significantly related to the dismissal of the indictment,” and added, “It appears that a significant review is needed to determine whether the remaining indictment facts alone can be considered the subject of investigation under the Special Prosecutor’s Office.”

Former commander Lee is suspected of creating the Suhoshin TF, a special counter-terrorism task force, within the Subangsa in February 2024, and then ordering the deployment of troops into the National Assembly on the day of martial law on December 3.

Previously, the special prosecutor's team indicted former counterintelligence commander Yeo Yeo-hyung, saying they had obtained information about how the Guardian Task Force was created while reviewing the charges against him.

The special prosecutor's team determined that although there were legal problems with deploying a counter-terrorism operation unit to the National Assembly due to departure from the operational area of ​​responsibility and non-designation of a counter-terrorism first response unit, former commander Lee ordered his subordinate units to do things that were not required by law without going through the minimum procedures.

Former Commander Lee's side announced on this day that it hoped for a public participation trial, but the court requested that it be reviewed one more time.

The court explained, “Because most of the parts are legal, there are questions about whether it is suitable for being judged at the level of public awareness,” and “since the case itself has parts that have sharp national opinions, it does not seem easy to select a fair jury itself.”

Former commander Lee's lawyer said, "The Guardian TF reported to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and received approval, but they say it is a secret organization. I have been a lawyer for 35 years, but looking at the records, I cannot tell what is what. I am sorry for saying this to the special prosecutor, but no matter how much I look, I do not know what was indicted and I cannot understand what the records mean."

Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim Jeong-min refuted, saying, "We did not indict it simply because it was a secret organization, but we secured a statement that the guardian task force was ordered to dispatch before martial law became known." He added, "It started operating in a manner that did not comply with the regulations of the anti-terrorism unit, and we confirmed that it was abused on the day of martial law, so we booked and indicted it."