Three figures from martial law operational chain, including former Vice Chairman Jeong Jin-pal, among those reviewed

All face charges of performing key duties in insurrection; Kim says he 'faithfully explained himself'

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-su, who faces allegations of participating in insurrection during the Dec. 3, 2024, emergency martial law declaration, speaks to reporters after leaving the courtroom at Seoul Central District Court on Monday following his arrest warrant hearing. [Yonhap]
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-su, who faces allegations of participating in insurrection during the Dec. 3, 2024, emergency martial law declaration, speaks to reporters after leaving the courtroom at Seoul Central District Court on Monday following his arrest warrant hearing. [Yonhap]

A court could decide as early as Monday night whether to detain former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-su and other former senior military commanders on insurrection charges stemming from the Dec. 3, 2024, emergency martial law declaration.

Judge Bu Dong-sik of Seoul Central District Court, who oversees insurrection-related arrest warrants, conducted a series of detention hearings beginning at 9:30 a.m. Monday for Kim and three other former officers: Lee Jae-sik, former Joint Chiefs readiness inspection vice chairman; Jeong Jin-pal, former Joint Chiefs vice chairman; and Kim Heung-jun, former Army headquarters policy chief.

Special prosecutors Kim Jeong-min and Kwon Young-bin from the second comprehensive special prosecutor team attended the hearings in person. Before entering the courtroom, Kim Jeong-min told reporters that the suspects' "greatest fault was failing to properly carry out what the public demanded during the martial law period."

Addressing former Chairman Kim specifically — the top-ranking officer in the military at the time — the special prosecutor said it would "run counter to common sense" to rely on narrow statutory provisions when assessing his obligations, arguing that the constitutional spirit and the overall framework of the Military Organization Act must be considered alongside any explicit legal duties.

Kim Myung-su emerged from his hearing at around 11:22 a.m. and told reporters only that he had "faithfully explained himself" when asked how he felt about the legal proceedings. He declined to answer questions about whether he acknowledged failing to restrain the defense minister, or whether he was aware that operational command authority remained with the Joint Chiefs even after martial law was declared. When asked about allegations that he had dismissed calls to withdraw martial law troops, he deflected, saying reporters should consult materials submitted by his defense counsel.

Kim faces charges of participating in insurrection — specifically performing key duties in furtherance of it — on allegations that he was present in the Joint Chiefs command and control center when armed troops were deployed to the National Assembly and other locations, took no action to stop them, and helped constitute the martial law command. The special prosecutor team registered the case as its first self-initiated investigation roughly two weeks after launching operations in March.

Prosecutors believe Kim, who held operational command authority, was aware that the martial law declaration and the deployment of troops to the National Assembly were unlawful yet failed to take appropriate action. During the investigation, the team secured testimony indicating that Kim received reports from staff members flagging procedural problems with the martial law declaration and urging the withdrawal of troops from the Assembly, as well as legal advice that operational command authority remained with the Joint Chiefs even after martial law took effect.

Investigators also identified as a key piece of circumstantial evidence the fact that Kim issued a short-form order to the Special Warfare Command and the Capital Defense Command directing them to prioritize martial law duties.

Kim's defense team has denied all charges. It argues that the defense minister personally took direct command and control of the martial law forces the moment martial law was declared, and that Kim was thoroughly excluded from the decision-making process and was in no position to exercise actual command authority.

The three other former officers — Lee, Jeong and Kim Heung-jun — completed their own detention hearings in succession through Monday afternoon. All are also suspected of preparing a so-called "second martial law" by checking available troop strength even after the National Assembly voted to lift the emergency martial law declaration. The court is expected to issue its ruling on the arrest warrants as early as late Monday night or in the early hours of Tuesday.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com