The special counsel investigating the insurrection case probing the Dec. 3 martial law allegations flatly denied former Defense Intelligence Command chief Noh Sang-won's claim of "plea bargaining" inducement.
On the 9th, the special counsel investigating the insurrection case said, "We only asked him to state the facts while explaining the mitigation system for investigative and trial assistants provided in the special counsel law for the insurrection case," adding, "To call it coercion to give false testimony is an act that distorts the substance and can be seen as obstructing the maintenance of the indictment."
Earlier on the 8th, at the trial of former President Yoon on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection and of abuse of power to interfere with the exercise of rights, held by the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25, former commander Noh, who appeared as a witness, entirely denied the allegations surrounding the special counsel's investigation and his handwritten notes. Having refused to testify in several past trials, he held back his words until the morning and then changed his stance in the afternoon, saying, "I will say what I have wanted to say."
At the center of the controversy is the so-called "70-page notebook." The notebook contains names of political and social figures such as former President Moon Jae-in, lawmaker Lee Jun-seok, and former chair Yoo Si-min, along with memos like "D-1," "D," "address," "the entire nation," "selective," and "travel ban measures," prompting suspicions that it indicated preparations for martial law. Former commander Noh said, "The drama 'Rustic Period' was on TV, so I wrote down Kim Du-han, and when Son Heung-min appeared, I wrote that back in our day Cha Bum-kun was good," adding, "Would I write a document to report to a superior like that?"
Regarding when the memo was written, he said, "It cannot be concluded that it was written before the April 2024 general election." He added, "As I recall, the gist was, 'Shouldn't martial law be imposed after winning the general election and establishing a legal basis?'" During the trial, he sighed or raised his voice, showing agitation, and while answering the special counsel's questions, he also said, "I will refuse to testify on the rest because it's bothersome."
Former commander Noh also took issue with the special counsel's investigative methods. He said, "I thought these people had already decided on the answer and wanted a 'yes,'" claiming that before the revised special counsel law passed, the special counsel in effect proposed plea bargaining. He said he was offered a sentence reduction on the condition that he testify against former President Yoon and, while he wavered at one point, did not go so far as to negotiate the actual sentence. After the trial, former President Yoon's defense team held a press conference and claimed, "The illegality of the special counsel's investigation was revealed through testimony."
In response, the special counsel investigating the insurrection case issued a detailed rebuttal on the 9th through a briefing and a statement. Deputy special counsel Park Ji-young said, "The 'mitigation for investigative and trial assistants' provided in the special counsel law for the insurrection case is not a system that gives prosecutors full authority like American-style plea bargaining, but one that allows the sentence of a person who cooperated with the state in their own investigation or trial to be reduced or exempted." Park also noted that similar provisions exist in the National Security Act and the Act on the Protection of Reporters of Specific Crimes, among others.
Deputy special counsel Park said, "We only asked former commander Noh to state the facts while explaining that such a system would be newly established going forward," adding, "To claim this is coercion to give false testimony or inducement distorts the substance of the investigation and could hinder the maintenance of the indictment."
The special counsel is investigating former commander Noh on suspicion of receiving personnel information on Defense Intelligence Command agents to form a "second investigative unit" to probe alleged election fraud at the time of the Dec. 3 martial law, and, based on the contents of his notebook and other materials, believes preparations for martial law ramped up around Oct. 2023 during military general officer appointments, continuing the probe.