The special counsel on insurrection asked for a five-year prison term for former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who was additionally indicted on charges including instigating the destruction of evidence related to the Dec. 3 martial law. The special counsel characterized Kim's charges as a grave crime that obstructed efforts to uncover the substance of the martial law and sought to eliminate key evidence.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 34 (Presiding Judge Han Sung-jin) on Apr. 7 held the first-instance closing arguments for former Minister Kim, who was indicted on charges of obstruction of official duties by deceit and instigating the destruction of evidence. In court, the special counsel requested a five-year sentence, saying it was "not a mere personal crime but one that shook the nation's security."
The special counsel viewed former Minister Kim's actions as crimes that undermined the investigation into the martial law itself. The special counsel said it was "a crime that not only made it difficult to discover the substantive truth of the Dec. 3 martial law but also destroyed key evidence unfavorable to him, seriously obstructing the judicial order by abusing the right to defense." The special counsel added, "Since the crime, without a single apology or reflection, he mocked the judiciary by insulting the bench in a courtroom that obscures the substance and by unjustly delaying the proceedings." However, the special counsel asked the court to partly consider that a 30-year prison term has already been handed down in the case involving engaging in important duties in an insurrection and that the appeal is underway.
According to the indictment by the special counsel, former Minister Kim is accused of deceiving the Presidential Security Service to obtain a secure phone one day before the martial law and then delivering it to former Defense Intelligence Command chief Noh Sang-won. Immediately after the martial law, he is also accused of instructing an associate, a person surnamed Yang, to dispose of related materials. The special counsel treated this case as the first additional indictment against former Minister Kim and brought it to a separate trial.
From the moment of the indictment, the trial saw procedural battles. At the time, former Minister Kim had received a conditional bail decision with the detention period nearing expiration in a separate case involving engaging in important duties in an insurrection, but his custody continued as a new arrest warrant was issued in this case. Afterward, Kim's side repeatedly sought the recusal of the bench in protest against the additional indictment and the setting of a hearing date, but the court deemed all of it aimed at delaying the proceedings and rejected the requests.
The request to transfer jurisdiction was ultimately dismissed by the Supreme Court, and the petition to revoke detention was also denied. Even after the trial began, former Minister Kim's side continued multiple pretrial sessions in protest against the court's conduct of proceedings. As the first indictment by the special counsel on insurrection and the first trial to directly address the alleged destruction of evidence related to the martial law, this case has drawn attention to the verdict.