Former Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo, who was arrested and indicted on charges including deploying military forces during the martial law on Dec. 3, applied for bail, but the court did not accept it on the 13th.
The Central Military Court held a bail hearing for the former commander in the afternoon, stating, 'There is a risk of evidence destruction' and dismissed the bail request. Earlier, the former commander's side had claimed on the 23rd of last month that they did not conspire to impose martial law and followed the orders of the President and the Minister of National Defense, and that there were no concerns about evidence destruction, but this was not accepted.
The former commander's attorney read the declaration of martial law by President Yoon Seok-yeol on Dec. 3 last year and the statement made on Dec. 12 last year during the court hearing held in the morning. The attorney then noted, 'Whether the content announced by President Yoon meets the criteria for martial law may vary depending on perspective,' and asserted, 'The indictment in this case concluded that it does not necessarily meet the criteria for martial law.'
He added, 'The criteria for martial law declaration and the crime of rebellion are completely different, so declaring martial law does not immediately become the crime of rebellion.' He stated, 'The crime of rebellion must necessarily be accompanied by a riot, but there was no riot during martial law.' This is a claim that there was no intent to violate the Constitution by the former commander. Additionally, he asserted that the military prosecution's indictment was 'a work of fiction.'
The military prosecution argued that there are circumstances indicating evidence destruction by the former commander and that this could be repeated in the future, expressing concerns about the possibility of influencing or intimidating witnesses.