Former Special Mission Unit Commander Kim Hyun-tae [Yonhap]
Former Special Mission Unit Commander Kim Hyun-tae [Yonhap]

A Seoul court handed down prison sentences Thursday to former military commanders who took part in the Dec. 3 emergency martial law crisis, including the blockade of the National Assembly.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 37-2, presided over by Judges Oh Chang-seop, Ryu Chang-seong and Jang Seong-hun, sentenced Kim Hyun-tae, the former commander of the Army Special Warfare Command's 707th Special Mission Group, to 12 years in prison on charges including performing a key role in insurrection. Kim, a colonel, was among several officers indicted in connection with the martial law declaration.

Lee Sang-hyeon, a former brigadier general who commanded the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade and led troops in the Assembly blockade alongside Kim, received a 10-year sentence.

Kim Dae-woo, a former brigadier general who headed the counterintelligence investigation unit of the Defense Security Command and was involved in operating a team to arrest politicians, was sentenced to five years.

Kim Bong-gyu, a former colonel who led the Central Press Corps, and Jeong Seong-uk, a former colonel who commanded the 2nd Project Group of the 100th Brigade — both accused of participating in a plan to occupy the National Election Commission and detain its staff — each received seven-year sentences.

The court ordered Kim Hyun-tae, Lee Sang-hyeon and Kim Dae-woo taken into custody in the courtroom, citing concerns that they might flee or destroy evidence.

However, two co-defendants — Park Heon-su, a former major general who headed the Defense Ministry's investigation headquarters, and Go Dong-hui, a former colonel who served as planning chief at the Defense Intelligence Agency — were acquitted on the grounds that insurrectionary intent could not be established.

In explaining the sentences for those convicted, the court rebuked the defendants for betraying "the sacred duty of national security and territorial defense" and turning military force — meant to serve the state and its people — to the benefit of individuals and particular factions.

The court added that it had been called upon by the state and society "to hold the defendants strictly accountable for an act of insurrection that cannot be tolerated in a liberal democracy," and that punishment commensurate with the gravity of the case was necessary "to sound a warning so that no one will ever again plot or participate in insurrection."


husn7@heraldcorp.com