Lee Sang-hyun, former 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade commander, sentenced to 10 years
Kim Bong-gyu, Jeong Seong-uk of Defense Intelligence Agency each get 7 years; Kim Dae-u of Defense Counterintelligence Command gets 5 years
Park Heon-su, former head of Defense Ministry investigation bureau, and Ko Dong-hui, former DIA planning chief, acquitted
Kim Hyun-tae, the former commander of the Army Special Warfare Command's 707th Special Mission Battalion, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday in his first-instance trial on charges including playing a key role in insurrection — stemming from his alleged role in leading troops into the National Assembly to blockade it during the Dec. 3, 2024, emergency martial law declaration.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 37-2, presided over by judges Oh Chang-seop, Ryu Chang-seong and Jang Seong-hun, handed down the 12-year sentence against the former colonel. Kim had held a tearful press conference outside the National Assembly just five days after the martial law declaration, saying "all 707 unit members are victims." About two months later, however, he changed his account during former President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial, claiming the words "drag them out" and "National Assembly members" had never been used. The court also sentenced Lee Sang-hyun — a former brigadier general who commanded the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade and is accused of leading troops to help blockade the Assembly during the martial law declaration — to 10 years in prison.
The court sentenced Kim Bong-gyu, a former colonel who headed the Defense Intelligence Agency's Central Interrogation Group, and Jeong Seong-uk, a former colonel who commanded the DIA's 100th Intelligence Brigade 2nd Operations Group, to seven years each on charges of participating in a plan to occupy the National Election Commission and detain its staff. Kim Dae-u, a former brigadier general who commanded the Defense Counterintelligence Command's counterintelligence investigation unit, received five years on charges of involvement in operating a team to arrest politicians.
Kim Hyun-tae, Lee Sang-hyun and Kim Dae-u had not been in custody at the time of sentencing, but the court ordered their immediate detention in the courtroom, citing concerns about flight risk and destruction of evidence. Kim Bong-gyu and Jeong Seong-uk are already in custody, having been detained in court after receiving sentences of one year and six months and one year, respectively, in a separate trial in June over allegations that they handed a list of DIA operatives to former Defense Intelligence Agency commander Noh Sang-won — a civilian at the time of the Dec. 3 martial law declaration.
"They abandoned the sacred duty of national security and territorial defense, and used military force — which should have been used for the state and its people — for the benefit of individuals and a particular faction," the court said.
The court added that it was obligated by the state and society to hold the defendants accountable for insurrection, which has no place in a liberal democracy. "There is a need to impose punishment commensurate with the gravity of the case and to sound a warning to all, so that no one will ever again plot or participate in insurrection," it said.
However, the court acquitted Park Heon-su, a former major general who headed the Defense Ministry's investigation bureau, and Ko Dong-hui, a former colonel who served as planning chief at the Defense Intelligence Agency, finding that criminal intent to commit insurrection had not been established.
Kim Hyun-tae and Lee Sang-hyun were indicted on charges of leading troops to blockade and infiltrate the National Assembly during the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration. Kim Dae-u faces charges of involvement in operating a team to arrest politicians.
Park Heon-su was indicted alongside Kim Dae-u and former Korean National Police Agency investigation planning coordinator Yun Seung-yeong on charges of operating the politician arrest team.
Kim Bong-gyu, Jeong Seong-uk and Ko Dong-hui were referred to trial on charges of participating in a plan to occupy the National Election Commission and detain its staff.
Kim Hyun-tae and the other defendants were initially indicted on charges including playing a key role in insurrection and tried before a military court. The Ministry of National Defense later transferred their cases to Seoul Central District Court in January at the request of the insurrection special prosecutor, Jo Eun-seok.
At the closing arguments hearing held July 28, the special prosecution asked the court to sentence Kim Hyun-tae to 18 years in prison, Lee Sang-hyun to 15 years, Kim Dae-u, Kim Bong-gyu and Jeong Seong-uk to 12 years each, and Park Heon-su and Ko Dong-hui to 10 years each.
The special prosecution said the defendants "were convinced the insurrection — carried out by former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun using martial law as a means — would succeed, and actively carried out the missions assigned to them in order to share in its fruits."
bell@heraldcorp.com
