'The defendants gave the insurrection its operational power'

Sentencing set for Oct. 30

A court logo. [Yonhap]
A court logo. [Yonhap]

The special prosecutor's office has sought prison sentences for former military officers implicated in the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration, including those linked to what has become known as the "hamburger meeting."

The special prosecutor team led by Jo Eun-seok sought seven-year prison terms each for Gu Sam-hoe, a former Army 2nd Armored Brigade commander, and Bang Jeong-hwan, a former defense innovation planning officer — both brigadier generals — at a closing arguments hearing held Friday before Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 38-2, presided over by Judges Jeong Su-yeong, Choe Yang-gak and Jang Seong-jin.

Prosecutors also sought sentences of five to seven years each for six co-defendants: Jeong Seong-u, a former defense innovation planning officer; Kim Jeong-geun, former commander of the Special Forces' 3rd Airborne Brigade; An Mu-seong, former commander of the 9th Airborne Brigade; Kim Sang-yong, former deputy chief of the Ministry of National Defense's investigation headquarters; Kim Chang-hak, former military police commander of the Capital Defense Command; and Kim Se-un, former commander of the Special Operations Aviation Unit. All were indicted on charges of deploying troops to the National Assembly, the National Election Commission and private polling agencies on the day martial law was declared.

The special prosecutor's team said Gu and Bang had no investigative authority but were summoned roughly six hours before the martial law declaration by No Sang-won, a former Defense Intelligence Command chief, to a fast-food restaurant in Ansan. There, they were assigned roles as head and deputy head of the Second Investigation Unit under the martial law command's joint investigation headquarters. That unit was established ahead of the emergency martial law declaration as a dedicated body to investigate election fraud allegations — a scheme conceived by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and No, among others.

"The defendants claim they were merely following orders from their superiors, but those orders amounted to a single sentence," the special prosecutor's team said. "It was none other than the defendants themselves who translated that brief command into guns, helicopters and armed troops." Prosecutors added that the defendants were not simply order-takers but commanders who in turn issued orders to their own subordinates. "It was when the defendants moved that the insurrection finally gained its operational power," they said, adding that the officers "served as the hands and feet directly responsible for the riot that forcibly occupied constitutional institutions and rendered them unable to exercise their authority."

Sentencing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Oct. 30.


keg@heraldcorp.com